Alone
by dreamer one
Summary: After several years and major changes in their lives, the original SG1 is called on for one more off world mission. This mission throws a family into crisis and tests the courage and dedication of the entire team. Complete.
1. Chapter 1 The Mission

PART 1: THE MISSION

At 0500 on a very rainy, early autumn Colorado morning, 27 levels beneath Cheyenne Mountain, a rather bedraggled, sleep deprived General Landry paced his office, listening to a genuine SGC legend giving him his marching orders.

"They're not going to like this, you know."

"I was thinking the same thing myself, Hank. Frankly, I'm expecting some fairly strong words and at least one or two 'oh, for crying out loud' complaints from a certain Ambassador."

"That would be insubordination, George."

General George Hammond, Ret. snorted at the last comment. "Jack and I have been friends for a long time. He was always a little insubordinate. Now he's older and more insubordinate. Seriously, Hank, Jack O'Neill is fiercely protective of his family and I'm not at all sure he is going to agree to this. But I have direct orders from the president that we are to make all reasonable accommodation for the needs of our off-world allies on this one".

"Then, George, I suppose it's up to us to see that he does agree. As you said 'the orders come from the highest levels'. We simply need Ambassador O'Neill and Colonel Carter to help our allies in a mission of 'vital importance'. I think they'll understand. If nothing else, Colonel Carter's curiosity will get the best of her."

"It's in your hands, Hank. Good luck. After all you are still the commander of the SGC and Sam's commanding officer. I'm simply the presidential advisor. Make the call. I'll do my best to be at the mountain tomorrow for the briefing."

Hank Landry ended the call with a half-hearted "thanks for your support, George" and a deep sigh. He didn't look forward to persuading Jack O'Neill to take on this mission

Things had certainly changed in the years he'd been CO of the SGC. When he'd first taken this assignment, at the behest of one Major General O'Neill, Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter were just taking the first steps towards a personal relationship. Now they were a settled married couple, with four kids, no less! Sure there were always the betting pools, but _four_ kids? Who would have thought it? Within a year of their marriage the twins, Jacob and Grace, were born. Four years later, Jonathan (Jon), made his appearance. And finally, to everyone's great surprise, Beth was born, just 3 years ago.

Although Hank Landry had never been as close a family friend as George Hammond, he'd visited the O'Neills on several occasions. From those visits, he'd developed a keen appreciation for the depth of devotion so evident between Sam, Jack and their children. Having known Jack O'Neill as a fellow officer for several years before the man's second marriage, he couldn't help but marvel at the change that had befallen him. It was obvious to anyone who could see that Jack O'Neill was a man who appreciated his good fortune and valued his family above all else.

* * *

It had been nearly 8 years since Jack and Sam went on a mission together. After all, there were the children to consider. Although gate travel appeared to be safer with each mission and the Goa'uld and Replicators were pretty much under control, there was always the risk that one or both of them wouldn't be coming home. It had been tacitly agreed, long ago, that they'd never risk leaving the children orphaned.

And yet, on this rainy October morning, Ambassador Jack O'Neill was awoken by a persistent ringing sound. As he reached over his still sleeping wife to silence the offending phone, he was surprised to hear a slightly harried Hank Landry on the other end.

"Jack, I'm glad you're home. We have a situation here".

"Hank, its 0600 on a Saturday! Of course I'm home! Beth kept us up most of the night with a miserable cough and here I am talking with you. What's going on?"

"I need you and Sam on base ASAP. The Asgard want to talk with both of you. Thor insists it can't wait and can't be anyone else."

"That's what I get for being Ambassador to the Asgard – awoken at inhuman hours ...by inhuman 'people'". Jack reflected silently that when he accepted the diplomatic position 4 years ago, he'd anticipated somewhat more regular hours which would allow him to maintain access to the SGC but also spend more time with his growing family. Maybe it was time for Plan B.

By now Sam was wiping the sleep from her eyes and moving closer to cuddle into Jack's side as was her habit upon awakening.

"Hank, we'll do our best to be there in about an hour, but we'll need to get the kids settled. Any idea how long we'll be at the mountain?" By now Jack had sat up in bed, eliciting a soft groan from Sam, still only half awake.

"Jack, it could be awhile. Both you and Sam should be prepared for some time off world."

"Hank, what's going on?"

"I don't want to discuss this over the phone Jack. Suffice it to say, we've all got orders on this one and we'll discuss it here in one hour ".

General Landry hung up, satisfied that the O'Neills would be at Cheyenne Mountain as soon as safe provisions were made for their children. He was well aware of the priority both Ambassador O'Neill and Colonel Carter placed on the safety and integrity of their family. He'd always respected that and hoped that the current situation would not force them to make impossible choices.


	2. Chapter 2 Preparation

_General Landry hung up, satisfied that the O'Neills would be at Cheyenne Mountain as soon as safe provisions were made for their children. He was well aware of the priority both Ambassador O'Neill and Colonel Carter placed on the safety and integrity of their family. He'd always respected that and hoped that the current situation would not force them to make impossible choices._

* * *

PART 2: PREPARATION

Over the years, Sam and Jack had learned that their children were resilient and surprisingly independent. They had been through some pretty traumatic events for their young years. Their parents would have preferred to protect them from any distress, but realized it wasn't always possible, especially given their high profile, unpredictable careers.

Jake, Grace, Jon and even Beth, at the tender age of three, had come to expect the unexpected. One or the other parent frequently was at work, or called to work, at odd hours. Yet more often than not, either their mother or father would be available to them. Today would be one of those rare times when both parents were called away, perhaps for a protracted length of time.

By now, both Sam and Jack were up and efficiently packing what they knew was needed for a possible off world excursion. As she worked, Sam was on the phone with Janet, negotiating arrangements for the Jacksons to care for the children in their absence. (Janet and Daniel had finally married 5 years ago, welcoming their first child, Ethan, just 6 months ago.) As she completed the call and went to wake the children, Jack reached for her.

"Sam, I've got a bad feeling about this … what if Thor has some idea that we are going on a mission for him again? We can't both leave the kids; you know we discussed this a long time ago." As he finished, Jack's eyes locked with his wife's and she was mildly alarmed to see the concern that filled their depths.

"Let's not borrow trouble, Jack. Right now, we've just been called into work. We'll take it a step at a time. We won't do anything to jeopardize our family."

Jack silently wished he could feel as relaxed about this as Sam obviously did. She gave him a brief peck on the cheek and went off to the children's rooms, turning on lights as she did so. This left Jack alone to pack and brood about the times missions never seemed to turn out the way they were intended, going to hell in mere seconds.

Within 20 minutes, the O'Neills were all awake and at least somewhat alert. Actually, Jake and Grace were fairly excited about the prospect of spending maybe a whole weekend with the Jacksons (and the family's new Xbox).

In the midst of the last minute preparations, Jake, always sensitive to his father's moods, approached Jack with a question.

"What's wrong Dad?"

"Wrong? Nothing … you know this happens every so often when your Mom and I are called into work. Sorry about the game we had planned, Jake. I'll make it up to you when we get back."

"That's not what I mean, Dad. You're worried; I can always tell, you know."

At 12 years old, Jake was the most perceptive pre-adolescent Jack had ever known. Well, granted he wasn't an expert with kids, but he'd spent a lot of time with his son and his friends over the past few years. From baseball to neighborhood street hockey and, supposedly hidden from Sam, dancing lessons, Jack O'Neill had proved to be a very hands-on father. Jack enjoyed every minute of it and Jake, well Jake thought his dad was "the best dad on the planet".

"It's about the Stargate, isn't it? They want you and Mom to go in, don't they"?

Suddenly, Jack flashed to the time nearly 3 years ago when Jake and Grace had been involved, without their parents' knowledge, in a covert NID operation which very nearly ended up in an unscheduled trip through the Gate. In fact, as a result, Jack, Sam and the United States Air Force had had no choice but to explain some part of the Stargate program to two fourth graders; precocious fourth graders perhaps, but fourth graders, none the less.

Of course, that had only been the beginning. For some reason, the brief proximity to the Gate during that kidnapping episode appeared to trigger night terrors involving Stargate activity. Although the emotional impact of these dreams faded when discussed with their parents, the frequency of the dreams increased as the children got older. So, unlike their younger siblings, Grace and Jake now had a pretty good idea of the danger their parents might be facing when they went to the mountain today.

"We'll be back as soon as we can, son. In the meantime, I need you to help with Jon and Beth. Can you do that for me?"

"Sure Dad. I just wish I could come along."

"I know you do Jake. I know you do".

Taking a deep breath, with a reassuring hand on Jake's shoulder, Jack turned towards the kitchen and called, "Okay, kids, the O'Neill transport is leaving at 0700. Let's get a move on!"

"We're ready", Sam replied, appearing with two very bleary eyed daughters at her side. Actually Grace was carrying Beth who was just about sleeping on her shoulder.

On their short drive to the Jackson home, the rains came down in torrents. Though it wasn't all that cold, Jack felt chilled to the bone. As the family pulled up in front of Daniel and Janet's, Sam kissed the children goodbye from the dry warmth of the SUV before Jack bundled them together and made a mad dash for the Jacksons' front door. Daniel was there to meet them. As he opened the door, Beth jumped into the arms of her favorite uncle.

"Uncle Danny, what are we going to play today? It's all wet outside, so I can't ride the bike". Beth was learning to ride her first two-wheeler and it was becoming an obsession.

"Daniel, thanks for watching them on such short notice. I hope we'll be back sooner than latter, but you never know. "

"Don't worry about the kids, Jack. You know we love having them. Hey, it gets us in practice for when Ethan gets older. You just take care of yourselves."

At that Jack hugged each of the children in turn. When it came to Grace's turn, the girl's arms just stayed wrapped tightly around her father's neck and she refused to let go.

"Princess, I've got to go. I'll be back just as soon as I can."

"Promise?" she asked, in a voice suddenly younger than her years.

"Promise. I love you too much to stay away very long, Grace." At that Grace pulled away and fixed her father with a teary eyed gaze. In other circumstances he would have stayed with her awhile, but it just wasn't an option today. Just when he thought she was getting to old to hug her old dad in public, he was reminded that she was still a little girl at heart.

Truth be told, he was glad.

"We'll take good care of them, Jack", Daniel called, starting to lead the girls into the family room. Janet was there as well by then; both she and Daniel knew that, hard as it was, Jack and Sam needed to get moving.

"Thanks again", Jack called back, as he turned from the door for a quick run back to the SUV and the trip in to the mountain.


	3. Chapter 3 The Briefing

_Thank you for reading this far, the pace of the story should pick up soon! _

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* * *

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PART 3: THE BRIEFING

They made it to the mountain and the briefing room in another 20 minutes. Although they were later than planned, it was the best they could do considering the needs of four pre-teen children.

As Sam and Jack entered the briefing room, they were met by General Landry, representatives of the Tokra High Council and an Asgard as yet unknown to them.

Once introductions were completed, the story behind the early morning phone call began to fall in place.

"We've recently become aware of the location of a powerful new weapons array under construction on P3X-779. Our intelligence tells us that a highly placed Goa'uld is involved in this project, but we have been unable to locate him in order to, how do you say, 'take him out'."

"Okay, so you have a situation. How does that involve me and my wife? We haven't been involved in any gate travel for some time now."

"Ambassador, it appears that the control panels of the central weapon are of ancient design. I'm sure you understand that this means only someone who possesses the ancient gene would be able to operate them."

"And so …"

The Asgard representative entered the discussion at this point, "The Asgard have an interest in this project as well, Ambassador. In addition to the weapons array, we are aware of high level genetic research carried on in the labs of P3X-779. We believe the Goa'ulds involved have accessed ancient knowledge related to genetic engineering. As you know, millennia ago, the Asgard and the Ancients were allies. As such the Ancients were involved in helping us with what was even then becoming a serious problem with our cloning technology".

"And you are hoping that what you find on P3X-779 is part of the answer you have been looking for all this time", Sam stated as some degree of realization began to dawn on her.

"Exactly, Colonel."

Hank Landry, normally a patient man, had had just about enough of the typical alien explanation which was, as always, long on style and short on specifics.

"So … what exactly do you need from us? And why do you require the services of both Colonel Carter and Ambassador O'Neill?"

The Asgard representative spoke up with some determination at this point. "General, the presence of both Colonel Carter and Ambassador O'Neill is vital to this mission. There are energy barriers and … other issues to be addressed".

"Other issues?"

"Yes, we believe one of the labs on the planet has an Asgard specimen from the time of our association with the Ancients. We require Colonel Carter's expertise in order to safely transport this specimen. And as we said before, Ambassador O'Neill will be required in order to manipulate the weapon. Thor has insisted he be present."

"You realize that Ambassador O'Neill and I are very reluctant to participate in an off-world mission together because of the possibility we may both be lost and our children left without a parent."

"You needn't worry, Colonel", the Tokra operative volunteered. "Our scouts indicate minimal occupying forces. Much of the base seems to be automated at this time. To the best of our knowledge the remaining residents are scientists. It is doubtful they would present a significant threat to a military team such as yours." Directing his comments to General Landry, he added, "We suggest that in addition to Colonel Carter and Ambassador O'Neill, the remaining members of SG1 and another SG team be assigned to this mission".

"Well, Hank, Teal'c is available. But Daniel's on babysitting duty…"

"Not anymore, Jack." Jack turned around in surprise just as Daniel entered the room, apparently ready to go. "Janet said she could handle it. She's home full time now what with the baby. And Grace and Jake are actually a big help with the younger kids. So you see, I'm not really needed there."

"Well, it sounds like this is settled. The President has asked me to expedite this one, Jack, in the interest of relations with our off world allies. SG1 you have a go. I'll be briefing SG3 within the hour. Planned departure will be at 1100 hours."

That said, General Landry and Daniel, along with the Asgard and Tokra representatives, left the briefing room, leaving Jack and Sam side by side at the table, making no move to get up.

Instead, Jack found his fingers intertwined with his wife's and was surprised to find himself holding on for dear life. Their eyes met briefly before Jack began, "I'm not sure this is a good idea, Sam. 'It seems'? 'Doubtful'?" Jack shook his head with a scowl, "we both know that's Tokra double talk for 'we've got no f… idea what's really there'. You know I'm beginning to think we should both just turn around and go home, Sam".

"I think you know we can't do that Jack. Come on, let's get geared up, they'll be ready to go any minute now and we don't want them waiting for the senior members of the team."

With a grimace, Jack replied, "Yasureyabetcha, let's go and get this over with".

Sam and Jack stood and proceeded to their quarters to suit up for the mission.

* * *

_I'm planning a total of around 15 chapters to complete the story. Will post at least twice a week. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated as this is my first attempt!_


	4. Chapter 4 Surprise Attack

_With a grimace, Jack replied, "Yasureyabetcha, let's go and get this over with". _

_Sam and Jack stood and proceeded to their quarters to suit up for the mission._

* * *

PART FOUR: SURPRISE ATTACK

Less that 30 minutes later the original SG1, SG3 and the Tokra, Bashir, stood at the base of the ramp, prepared to embark. The Asgard representative had already been beamed back to the Daniel Jackson.

"Let the good times roll", Jack cracked in as light a tone as he could muster under the circumstances. Though he was his suspicious self about any plan which involved the Tokra, he was willing, for now, to let Sam's confidence and his sense of loyalty to Thor override his misgivings. "The original crew is back; how's it feel kids?"

"It feels good, as always, O'Neill", Teal'c replied in his inimitable low key fashion.

"Godspeed, SGs 1 and 3". The teams turned to the booming voice, apparently from the control room, and found General George Hammond among the observers.

"Nice of you to join the party, George! What's the occasion?"

"Nice to see you too, Jack. Just here to see you off; I don't get to see my original flagship team go into the field any more." Truth be told, George Hammond had misgivings from the beginning, when the President had first pitched him this mission. Although he couldn't put his finger on the problem or stop the mission, he did want to be in a position to help, if it came to that.

Nodding appreciatively in the direction of his former CO, Ambassador Jack O'Neill turned to his wife and Colonel Reynolds, a good friend and commander of SG3, suggesting, "What do you say we get this show on the road, Reynolds?"

"Yes, sir."

By now, Walter's familiar voice declared that the seventh chevron had locked; the 'kawoosh' of the final sequence let everyone know it was time to embark. All reservations aside, the teams walked up the ramp and into the world of P3X-779.

* * *

"See Carter, I told you. It's just another planet with lots of trees." Actually, as the teams stepped out of the gate, they found themselves in a spacious clearing flanked by heavily forested areas on both sides. The clearing itself appeared to lead to gently rolling hills; there were several irregularly spaced rocky outcroppings across the clearing.

"Yes, sir. It's another green, hopefully boring, planet." It amazed Sam how quickly they fell back into their professional roles when they were at work, particularly in the field.

"Ambassador, our intel suggests the lab we seek should be straight ahead. There is also the possibility of a Goa'uld reconnaissance station, slightly to the north of the lab.

At this, O'Neill fixed the Tokra operative with a look of utter disdain. "And you didn't think it important to mention this before because…? Reynolds, scope it out, Teal'c take point. Let's not assume this is going to be a walk in the park."

Jack walked just slightly behind Teal'c. As Sam watched him from behind she felt as though she'd gone back 10 years in their histories. It was as if nothing had changed: Jack and Teal'c on alert, vigilant, as always. With SG3 bringing up the rear, just behind Daniel, she felt perfectly safe, but less than battle ready herself. Sure she'd maintained a level of fitness, but as a mother of four, her body was far different than it had been 10 years ago. So many things were different. Her life was full and meaningful in ways she could never have imagined during those long walks from the gate when she was Jack's 2IC.

They'd gone about 1 click in the direction of the lab when Teal'c suddenly stopped and crouched low as if listening for a hidden assailant.

"What ya got T?"

"I believe we are not alone on this planet, O'Neill."

Before Teal'c was able to offer a more detailed assessment, the first blasts rang out from the left side of the clearing and the teams dove for cover. Jack and Sam found themselves on opposite sides of a large rocky embankment, much to Jack's consternation. From then on, Jack's efforts and attentions along with those of Colonel Reynolds, hunkered down with him, were directed towards repelling the small force who'd unleashed the first volley of shots.

In the midst of this firefight, Sam glanced towards her husband just in time to see two Jaffa approach his position from the opposite direction, break the cover of dense vegetation and open fire. Jack was hit on the initial volley, before he was aware of the second team of Jaffa. Reynolds managed to drag O'Neill with him to take cover on the far side of the embankment.

Meanwhile, Sam and the rest of the team returned fire. Within a few minutes, the battle had settled and the Jaffa who'd not been killed or wounded had fled.

It was then that Sam was able to run to her husband. Colonel Reynolds, who had already assessed the desperate situation, quickly moved out of her way and stood to the side. The sight that met her eyes was horrific. She fell to her knees beside the man she desperately loved, taking in the gaping wound to his chest, his blood soaked clothing and his fearful stillness. She touched the side of his neck searching for a pulse, knowing the search was in vain. Sam heard an empty sob rip from her chest and felt tears streaming down her cheeks. This was her worst nightmare; she simply prayed to wake up.

Her hands reached for Jack and caressed his face gently, hoping against hope she was wrong and he would open his eyes. The lack of response made her feel as if her own heart would stop. The reality of death reached its tendrils through her being as she leaned over the body of her husband, gathering him into her arms. She began to rock back and forth, holding her beloved securely to her chest.

By now, Teal'c and Daniel were standing directly behind their friends. Their own shock was palpable, the feeling of loss overwhelming.

* * *

_Please don't panic, or have terribly bad thoughts about me --- Part 5 up soon!_


	5. Chapter 5 The Grieving

She began to rock back and forth, holding her beloved securely to her chest.

By now, Teal'c and Daniel were standing directly behind their friends. Their own shock was palpable, the feeling of loss overwhelming.

* * *

PART FIVE: GRIEVING 

Aware that the immediate danger was far from resolved, with hostile Jaffa still in the vicinity, Daniel knelt beside his friends holding his hand to Sam's back. Teal'c voiced the needed words, "Samantha, we must leave this place; it is not safe to remain". Neither Daniel nor Teal'c was surprised when Sam did not react or acknowledge their presence.

Daniel felt the tears in his own eyes as he watched Sam continue to hold Jack's body tightly to her own, as though by the strength of her love she could will his life force to return. Finally, knowing that all their lives were at stake, Daniel reached for Sam's shoulders as Teal'c gently pulled O'Neill from her grasp.

Making eye contact as best he could, Daniel repeated "We have to go, Sam".

"No…stay…" Sam replied, in a flat, defeated tone.

"O'Neill would not have wanted that Samantha. Your place is with your children. They have great need of you." Teal'c had spoken the only words which could have cut through Sam's grief at that time. Jack was dead and their children would need their mother more than ever.

"We have to bring him home."

"We will, Samantha." With that, Teal'c lifted the body of Jack O'Neill with great care, as Daniel helped Sam to her feet. Teal'c carried the body into the nearby forested area. Sam, with Daniel at her side, was directly behind Teal'c, with SG3 and the Tokra, Bashir, bringing up the rear.

Once safely concealed under the canopy of trees, the Tokra liaison addressed the SGC teams, still so obviously in shock at the death of the Ambassador.

"I believe we may have a more satisfactory solution, Colonel Carter. The Goa'uld reconnaissance station may house a sarcophagus. We have been led to believe this may be one of the last remaining sarcophagi .Our sources suggest it has been part of the Goa'uld research here. If it remains functional, and we were to bring the Ambassador..."

Immediately Colonel Reynolds frowned as though he would protest any suggestion, especially from the Tokra, that would place more members of the team at risk. But before Reynolds could speak, Teal'c offered direction to the group in a tone that allowed for no debate.

"Then we will bring him. But Samantha, you must return through the gate. Daniel Jackson," he continued "I believe Colonel Carter will require your presence."

Daniel silently nodded his agreement, shooting a quick glance at Reynolds, now the leader of this mission, for acknowledgement. On his part, despite his misgivings, the SG3 leader had quickly decided that the risks involved in attempting to revive his good friend and an extremely valuable member of the team, were acceptable. He immediately assigned SG3's Lieutenant Carson to accompany Daniel and Sam back to the gate. Sam made to protest but stopped, realizing she had little voice left in her. After all, they were right. Her primary responsibility at this point was to make it home to her children.

* * *

The walk back to the gate was accomplished quickly, but stealthily. As much as possible, the small group remained under cover of the available vegetation, coming out only when necessary to activate the gate. Within minutes, the three returning team members materialized at the SGC, surprising everyone with the rapidity of their return and the tragic nature of their news. 

Hammond was in the gateroom along with General Landry as soon as "unscheduled off world activation" sounded through the base.

Sam emerged from the gate flanked by Daniel and Lt. Carson. She was beyond pale, staring straight ahead, tears streaming silently down her face and fresh blood covering the front of her uniform. She walked directly past her two superior officers without so much as an acknowledgement. It didn't take Daniel's warning look as he sprinted off behind her to alert the Generals to the tragedy that had occurred.

"Report, Lieutenant."

"We had just arrived, Sir. Ambassador O'Neill was fatally wounded by a staff weapon blast. The Tokra believe there may be a sarcophagus on the planet and the remainder of the team is attempting to find this, in hopes of reviving the Ambassador. It was felt that Colonel Carter should return for her own safety. Colonel Reynolds requests that I return with reinforcements ASAP".

General Landry found it hard to believe Carter had returned of her own accord.

George Hammond simply nodded. As a father and grandfather, he understood why she'd come back. Her greatest fear had come to pass. Jacob should be here to comfort Sam, but Sam had lost her father long ago. Hammond wondered how he might be able to help his good friend's daughter. Sadly, he realized that though he might be able to help in some way, there would be no real comfort for Sam until Jack O'Neill returned.

* * *

Daniel followed Sam to the base quarters she had shared with Jack. He found the door open. At first he couldn't find his friend, but as he walked through the sitting room, he heard a strangled sob. Looking towards the sound, he found Sam curled up on the floor, rocking, clutching what appeared to be a jacket – Jack's favorite leather jacket.

Silently, Daniel slid down the wall and sat next to the grieving woman, so much a sister to him. He shared her grief and understood, from his own loss of Sha're, some of the devastation Sam must be feeling at the moment. Still he had no words for such a time. They sat side by side for what seemed forever, the only sound, the occasionally audible sob from Sam. At last, Daniel broke the silence.

"You know he may come back to us, Sam".

"…and he may not. We saw him die, Daniel. Even Jack can't always beat the odds".

"For now there's hope, Sam."

Sam looked up at Daniel for the first time since he'd entered the room. The vulnerability in her eyes broke his heart, as she asked, "What do I tell our children?" Almost as quickly as she had looked at him, she looked away as though the contact was too much.

Daniel just sat silently for a bit before even attempting an answer. "You tell them how sad you are," he began, looking at Sam's back as she started to rock yet again. After a deep breath, he continued, "you tell them their dad was injured and he's in a special hospital where they have the skill to make him better. Then we wait. And you love them".

At Daniel's words, Sam finally stopped rocking and turned slightly to meet his gaze. "I know you're right. I just don't know if I have the strength right now. I miss him so much already, Daniel. I can't imagine living a life without Jack."

"If that's what you have to do, Sam, you'll do it for your kids. That's how you'll remember and honor Jack." Sensing the compassion and concern in Daniel's voice, Sam allowed him to wrap his arms around her. She leaned into his comforting embrace and she wept.

* * *

_Thanks for your reviews, more scenes with the children coming up _


	6. Chapter 6 Going Home Without Him

_"… I can't imagine living a life without Jack."_

_"If that's what you have to do, Sam, you'll do it for your kids. That's how you'll remember and honor Jack." Sensing the compassion and concern in Daniel's voice, Sam allowed him to wrap his arms around her. She leaned into his comforting embrace and she wept._

* * *

PART SIX: GOING HOME WITHOUT HIM

Daniel drove Sam home the next day. She'd wanted to stay at the SGC waiting for word, waiting for her husband to return. But Janet had called, concerned that Grace and Beth had awoken that morning with nightmares, wanting to know when their parents were coming home. Having learned of the disastrous mission in a phone briefing from her husband the day before, Janet was sure that no matter what Sam's emotional state, being with their mother in their own home would help the children feel more secure, and probably help Sam as well. The Jacksons had decided they would stay with Sam and the kids, at least for a couple of nights, to provide as much physical and emotional support as they could.

Daniel hoped to have Sam home at least an hour before Janet brought the children back, so she could get her bearings before everyone arrived. This was a pretty hefty order considering the mental and physical state Sam was in. Before they could leave the base, there was the requisite post-mission medical exam. Sam appeared catatonic though much of this procedure, leaving Daniel wishing his wife was still the CMO on base. He was sure that Janet would have made that whole medical clearance ordeal easier for Sam.

Then, of course there was the matter of getting Sam cleaned up which involved removing the bloody uniform, the uniform covered in her husband's blood. This unleashed yet another torrent of tears, by which time Daniel wondered whether the current CMO would allow Sam to go home today at all.

But finally, after a lot of assurances from Daniel, and some encouragement from General Landry, Sam was cleared by Dr. MacKenzie, and they were on their way.

The half hour drive from the base to the O'Neill residence was spent in silence. Sam had lapsed back into near catatonia, staring straight ahead with her arms wrapped around her body. Daniel tried to quash his own fears for Sam, reminding himself that she and Janet were the most emotionally stable women he knew. He was certain she had the inner strength to get through this, but his heart broke to see her in such pain.

By the time the car found its way into the O'Neill driveway--Daniel thought they must have arrived on automatic pilot, since his concentration had been on Sam – it was dusk. Daniel got out of the driver's seat and went to open the passengers' side door for Sam.

"Sam, you're home. Let's go in." Sam turned to his voice and looked past Daniel to the house. Daniel was relieved to see recognition in her eyes and thanked whatever deities actually existed when she squeezed his hand, got out of the car on her own volition and said quietly, "thank you, Daniel".

Once inside, Sam began to take charge. This was her home, after all, and she was as safe and secure here, with her friend, as she was going to be any time in the near future.

"How long before Janet gets here with the children, Daniel?"

"Probably another hour, give or take a bit, depending on how much she has to do to get Ethan ready to go."

"And my four… I'm so glad the three of you are going to stay with us for awhile. I don't think I could do this alone".

"You'll never have to be alone, Sam. We're family. It'll always be that way".

Sam simply smiled her appreciation. Then, happy for a simple, normal task to do, she walked to the kitchen, made coffee, poured two cups and joined Daniel in the living room. Waiting for Sam, Daniel had found photo albums on the table just in front of the sofa.

Within a few minutes, the two teammates found themselves sitting quietly, looking at old pictures of SG1, just to pass the time until Janet came with the children. Though Sam remained a ghastly shade of white, she and Daniel had managed to chuckle at some of the memories triggered by the pictures. For the most part, Sam allowed herself to be drawn into the memories of a happier time. If only she could forget for a moment …

When Janet turned the key in the lock, Sam was momentarily startled. Once she realized Janet and the children had arrived, she replaced the photo albums and went towards the door to meet her children. Beth ran to her and wrapped her little arms around her mother's legs, "I missed you, Mommy!" Jon and the twins stood anchored to their spots by the door, more than a little frightened by the paleness of their mother's face and the still misty, bloodshot eyes that met them. Sam panicked momentarily when she saw their fear, remaining silent and frozen herself.

"Hey, everybody, we thought you'd never get here", Daniel greeted the tense little group.

With his hand on Jon's shoulder, he bent over to give Janet a peck on the cheek. "Come on in, we need everyone in the family room. Your mom and I need to tell you what's happened", Daniel beckoned encouragingly.

Sam bent over to pick up Beth. The other children, along with Daniel and Janet, followed behind. They'd just entered the well used, comfortable family room when Jon asked, "Where's Daddy? Why didn't he come home too, Mommy?"

"Well, that's what we need to talk about", Sam began, a slight quiver in her voice. "Mommy and Daddy had some trouble at work. Daddy was hurt and we've had to leave him in a special hospital. We think this hospital has the right medicine to make him better".

"When can we go see him, Mom?" Grace asked. As she did so, Jake shook his head, as if to indicate to Grace and his mother that he knew such a visit would be impossible.

"Oh", Grace added, with disappointment. She recalled that they were not allowed to share any information about the Stargate with the younger children. She knew that her questions would have to wait until she and Jake could be alone with the adults.

Sam realized that her older children had a better understanding of the situation than she wanted to believe. This would make it so much more difficult to reassure them. There was certainly nothing reassuring about the truth she feared she would have to tell them. She was lost in her thoughts and taken by surprise by Jon's next question.

"What if they can't make him better, Mommy?"

At Jon's question, she suddenly saw Jack's broken body in her mind's eye and involuntarily gasped. Daniel was at her side almost immediately. At the same time, Janet, seeing the sudden fear in Beth's face as she reacted to her mother's emotions, came over to hold the little girl.

"Kids", Daniel began, "your dad's very sick right now and he can't have visitors. Everyone is working hard to make him better so he can come home. He told your mom to come home to take care of all of you while he is in the hospital. He'll be home just as soon as he can."

"Really, Uncle Danny?" Jon responded hopefully.

"Really, Jon", Daniel answered, knowing Jack certainly would have wanted Sam home with their children and hoping against hope that he would be proven right about his friend's eventual recovery.

"That means we need to make plans to welcome Daddy home soon! I think he'd like cake. Right, Mom?"

Sam just couldn't find the voice to answer her son, who was trying so hard to be brave, and would miss his father so much should the worst happen.

"Mommy, you okay?" Beth whimpered in a very small voice.

"I'm fine sweetheart", Sam lied, as she stood up. This family had to survive, whatever happened on P3X-779. A basic element of survival was feeding her family and that, at least, she could handle in a small way. "But right now, it's late and I think its time we all had some supper together. How about your Dad's favorite?"

"Pizza?" asked Jon, now clearly relieved by his uncle's earlier reassurance. Although Daniel hadn't lied to the boy, he'd certainly put the most positive face on the situation. Jon, for one, wanted to believe it was so. And right at that moment, Sam found herself wanting to believe it too.

Daniel ruffled Jon's head of curly auburn hair, "Of course, pizza, what else?" As Daniel went to order the food, Sam noticed with trepidation how quiet the twins had become. They weren't buying any of this. They knew.

"Jake, Grace, I need your help in the kitchen," she called. It was time for explanations, no matter how painful they may be.

* * *

_Chapter 7 will feature Jake and Grace and their reactions. Please continue reading and reviewing to help me make this better. Thanks!_


	7. Chapter 7 Explanations

"_Jake, Grace, I need your help in the kitchen," she called. _

* * *

PART SEVEN: EXPLANATIONS

Sam motioned for the twins to join her at the kitchen table. Sitting down, she realized just how many touching moments the family had shared around this table. She remembered vividly some of the earliest times with just Jack and the twins when they were little. Each parent would have a twin in their lap or in an adjacent high chair trying to persuade them to eat. It was quite a sight! Jack was so good at it; he'd taught her a few tricks about getting babies to ear, always with humor.

She felt the tears forming again and fought them back, promising that she would be strong for Jake and Grace. These two knew just enough about the gate and what their parents did at the mountain to be very frightened right now. For all Sam knew, Grace's nightmare had been a premonition of her father's death.

Sam was finally shaken from her thoughts by Jake's question, "What's really happening, Mom?. "You went through the Gate, didn't you?"

"You mean Dad's not even on earth?" Grace asked in a shocked tone. "How could you leave him?"

At that comment, Jake shot his sister a glare. "Grace, let Mom tell us. Can't you see how upset she is?"

By now, Sam could feel the tears threatening to fall as she began, "Grace, Jake, I need you both to listen for awhile. You have to believe that I wanted to stay with your father, but I also knew that I needed to get home to all of you." Sam paused, looking lovingly at each of the twins in turn. Then letting her head fall towards the floor and taking a deep breath, she continued.

"Jake's right, your dad and I were on a mission to another planet. We thought it would be safe, a routine scientific mission, or we never would have gone. We were met by hostile soldiers, almost as soon as we walked through the gate". Sam paused, closing her eyes briefly to hold back the tears before continuing. "Your dad was wounded very badly; by the time I could get to him…. he was dead."

Through her own tears, Sam watched the horror dawning on the faces of her eldest children. Grace began to sob and Jake's eyes went wide, as he reached out for his sister.

"So, the hospital….?"

"There is a device that can restore vital functions if the wounded person is placed inside it within a few hours of death. We had information that such a device was on the planet. Uncle T. and SG3 took your Dad with them and they are searching for the device. If they find it, there's a possibility your Dad can be revived".

Sam realized that the tears streaming down her face belied the confidence she tried to put in her words. As she scanned the twins' faces, she realized they were as devastated as she felt inside. She didn't want them to feel that pain; she didn't know how to prevent it. But she could comfort them. So she pulled herself from her chair and sank to her knees behind the chairs that held her children, placing her arms around them.

Almost immediately, Jake and Grace slipped from the chairs and onto the floor, into their mother's arms. Sam simply whispered to them and rocked them as she'd done when they were much smaller, hoping that in some small way she could ease the pain.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minutes later, Daniel pushed through the kitchen door, his arms laden with 3 large pizza boxes.

"Pizza's here", he called, before he looked over the boxes to see Sam and the twins huddled together on the floor. He stopped in his tracks, set the boxes on the table and lowered himself to the floor beside Jake. "Hey, guys, let us know when you're ready."

Sam's head came up slowly and she answered softly, with the twins still wrapped tightly in her arms, "Just give us a few, okay?"

Daniel nodded, reached over to squeeze Sam's shoulder in silent support and quietly left the little group alone.

Jake and Grace lifted their heads, pulling back just slightly, to meet their mother's eyes. Still firmly in the safety of her mother's arms, Grace asked, "Mom, can't we do anything to help him? I really want Daddy to come home."

"Of course you do, princess. We all do." Sam briefly studied the now tearful face of her lovely daughter. Jack always said Grace was the spitting image of Sam at that age, currently sporting long blond hair and her features highlighted by cobalt blue eyes. Grace had loved to spend time with her dad and had picked up Jack's sarcastic wit and his penchant for all things Simpson. Little did she know that her father had no plans for her to ever start dating; if he could, he would keep her young, and safe, forever! Sam remembered hoping she'd get her husband to see the light of reality before he alienated every potential date their daughter might ever have.

"Right now, we have to trust that Uncle T and Colonel Reynolds will do their best to bring your dad home to us. The best thing we can do is to take very good care of each other," she said with a sad smile, gazing intently at first one and then the other of her twins. "That means being very patient with each other, helping out with chores, realizing there are going to be days one of us is just very sad …."

"We'll help, Mom", Jake started, "we'll do anything we can for you and the kids, won't we, Grace?" Sam's heart warmed as she heard her son's promise. He had Jack's sense of responsibility and had learned so much about being a man from his father. She prayed that Jon would have the same opportunity.

"I love your both, so much ….Okay," Sam continued, in a somewhat stronger voice, "first of all, this family needs to eat. Come on, Jake, help me get some paper plates. Grace, would you get some drinks for everybody?"

"Sure, Mom", came the small, fragile reply from young Grace, who'd always been Daddy's little girl. Her initial anger towards her mother for leaving her father behind seemed to have been transformed in the last few minutes of shared grief. Although Grace's fear for her father was great, she would do all she could to support her mother and the younger children during the days ahead.


	8. Chapter 8 Waiting, But Not Alone

_Although Grace's fear for her father was great, she would do all she could to support her mother and the younger children during the days ahead._

* * *

PART EIGHT: WAITING, BUT NOT ALONE

In efficient fashion, paper products were placed in the family room and both children and adults were served pizza and beverages. Daniel had clearly ordered enough food to feed the assembled group plus their sorely missed members. 'Must have been wishful thinking, Danny boy', he silently chided himself.

During the meal Janet kept a close eye on Sam who made an unsuccessful effort to eat something and participate in the conversation of her two youngest. Jon and Beth, still not aware of the seriousness of the situation, were fully confident that their father would be made well and returned to them soon. And so, before their bedtime they were excitedly making plans for how to welcome their father home.

"Okay, everyone; looks like its time to clean up and get some young people ready for bed", Janet announced.

"But Aunt Janet, Jon is going to help me make a get-well card for Daddy. We're going to send it to the hospital", Beth pleaded in a slightly whiny tone.

Sam closed her eyes tightly for just a moment, an expression not missed by Jake. Her eldest son placed his hand gently on her arm in sympathy.

"Aunt Janet, Jake and I will help the kids get ready for bed", Grace volunteered. "And we can help with the card too. Maybe even some computer graphics from Star Trek".

"Thanks honey". Sam had to smile wistfully as she was reminded of how well the twins knew their father.

All four children vanished much more rapidly than usual, the eldest trying especially hard to be helpful and relieve as much worry as possible from their mother. This left Janet and Sam to clean up the remains of the meal, while Daniel changed little Ethan.

* * *

Putting the leftovers away, Sam burst into tears. Janet reached her quickly and pulled her into a hug. "Hey…?"

"I'm sorry, it's just Daniel ordered lots of Jack's favorite pizza; nobody else likes it. Isn't that ridiculous, I'm crying because of anchovy pizza! You know, I think Jack used to order anchovies just to annoy me. Right about now I'd do anything for him to be around to annoy me". Sam looked up at Janet with a half hearted smile and added, "I think I'm going to be crying over silly things like pizza for awhile, Janet."

Janet felt her friend begin to sag against her and helped her into a kitchen chair. "It's okay, honey, you've got every right to cry. I just wish I could make it better."

"I miss him so much. I never knew I could hurt this badly. I left him there, Janet. What if he needs me? He never really thought we should go on this mission. I told him it would be okay." At this, Sam covered her face with her hands, sobbing in earnest and laying her head on the table.

"Sam, none of this is your fault. Jack would be furious if he thought you were going to beat up on yourself for leaving. You know I'm right. As for coming home to the kids, that is exactly what he would have wanted you to do."

Sam looked intently into the eyes of her good friend, as if to judge the sincerity of her remarks. "Janet, I waited so long to be with Jack. I loved him so much even way back at the beginning. It scared me. The thought of what would happen if I ever lost him frightened me so much I wasn't willing to take a chance. I didn't want to risk hurting like I do now."

Janet just continued to watch her friend and nodded, with a gentle smile.

"The kids are wonderful, aren't they, Janet? They're so much like Jack, resourceful, determined, and so full of love. I don't know how to help them through this right now. How do I help them live with the loss of their father when I don't know how I'm going to live with it?"

"Honey, those kids are here now because you and Jack finally got over your fears about each other. The kids have all those wonderful traits because of both of you. The strength for the next step will come, Sam, the strength will come. And your friends will be with you."

* * *

In the den, Daniel had just placed Ethan in the portable playpen he'd brought with him for the night when the phone rang. It was the SGC. "Dr. Jackson, I'm calling to check on Colonel Carter. How is she holding up, son?"

"Actually, as well as could be expected, sir. Any word from SG3?"

"I'm afraid not. Shortly after you came through the Gate, SG 7 was sent through to provide backup. Their assignment was to secure the gate. They've been unable to contact SG3 for scheduled check-ins since they first arrived. At first, it was assumed they'd gone silent to avoid alerting any remaining Jaffa, but something isn't right. I've just given SG7 permission to begin a search of the immediate area. So far, Teal'c and SG3 seem to have vanished. It doesn't look good; I don't want anyone getting their hopes up about the mission or about Jack's return at this point."

"Understood, General. But don't count Jack O'Neill out just yet."

Sam walked into the den just as Daniel was finishing the call. "Who was it, Daniel? Is there any word?"

Daniel wished he could offer positive news, but settled for the truth. "That was General Hammond. SG7 lost contact with Teal'c and SG3 shortly after they arrived on the planet. They're starting a search."

Sam closed her eyes, sighed deeply, and walked silently from the room.


	9. Chapter 9 Meanwhile on P3X779

_Daniel wished he could offer positive news, but settled for the truth. "That was General Hammond. SG7 lost contact with Teal'c and SG3 shortly after they arrived on the planet. They're starting a search."_

_Sam closed her eyes, sighed deeply, and walked silently from the room._

* * *

PART NINE: MEANWHILE ON P3X-779

Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since Teal'c placed Jack O'Neill in a sarcophagus hoping for a miracle.

Once the guards (funny, the Tokra hadn't mentioned any guards) were disposed of, Teal'c had remained, for the most part, to keep watch over his friend, while Colonel Reynolds and his team investigated the remaining contents of the Goa'uld facility. As Teal'c reflected on the past day's activities, he was struck by the range of emotions he'd experienced in such a short time. From the despair immediately following O'Neill's death to the hope which flourished once they found the sarcophagus to the amazement the group felt on seeing the contents of the actual facility they'd been searching for, it had been a day of unique, sometimes heart-rending experiences.

OoOoOo

_(Teal'c recalls the events of the day, following O'Neill's death…)_

After Carter, Daniel and Lt. Carson had been sent back to the gate, the remaining members of the team set out towards the location of the reconnaissance station.

Their goal was to find the sarcophagus and explore any extant facilities while they waited for Ambassador O'Neill's recovery. Arriving in the vicinity of said station, they were greeted by a pair of Jaffa intent on protecting the post. Teal'c, however, was equally intent on the healing of his friend and wasted no time in dispatching the two who dared to stand in his way.

Much to their surprise, the team found that the "reconnaissance station" was really nothing more than a 20 x 12 foot single room housing a ring transporter device. Considering he had little to loose in the attempt, Teal'c, bearing O'Neill's body, had stepped inside the rings and found himself transported to a subterranean area obviously cleared by Tokra crystal technology. He radioed SG3 and all but two of the remaining SGC personnel, along with Bashir, joined him below the surface. Lieutenants Homer and Garland remained behind in the above ground station, on guard for further Jaffa activity.

Teal'c quickly located the sarcophagus in a small antechamber of what appeared to be a state of the art (even for the Asgard) genetics lab. Leaving Teal'c behind with O'Neill, Reynolds, along with Bashir and 2 members of SG3 went ahead to explore what proved to be an extraordinary facility.

The lab itself was spacious to say the least, covering over 2 football fields' worth of underground territory. That main research facility was connected to smaller chambers by means of honeycombed tunnels of Tokra design to form quite a large underground compound. Although the Tokra liaison claimed no knowledge of his people's involvement in the facility, he now appeared even more interested in locating whatever treasures, including weapons, could be found therein.

At that juncture, Homer and Garland were called down to help secure the compound. They'd been in contact with their backup, SG7; that team had just arrived to secure the gate for their return home. Moreover, Lt. Carson had rejoined them along with an archeologist, James McCoy PhD, who would attempt to provide some of the expertise lost to the team when Dr. Jackson returned to base.

Once all members of the original team were transported to the underground chambers, all hell broke loose. One heavily armed Jaffa had clearly been waiting for everyone to find their way into the self contained area in order to prevent escape. This particular guard was huge, nearly twice the size of Teal'c and announced his presence in an ominous howling pronouncement, "You have invaded the highly prized treasure rooms of Amoun, the god of creation. You will pay for your sacrilege".

Immediately the team was bombarded by a piercing wail which blocked out all other sounds. The lights flashed rapidly and the temperature dropped precipitously. Team members quickly found cover as energy beams crisscrossed the room. Teal'c came running from the antechamber once he heard the disturbance and took up a spot behind Reynolds, the two men soon managing to maneuver around the threatening Jaffa while the others drew his fire. In the midst of the cacophony of sound that was that enclosure, Teal'c fired a direct hit on the Jaffa who crumbled to the ground. As he did so the agonizing noise stopped as suddenly as it has begun while a bright light transmuted the chamber for just a split second. Within a minute after the Jaffa was down, silence reigned in the chamber and the team looked at each other with some bewilderment.

"What was that about?" Reynolds asked, "One Jaffa wasn't much of a guard detail; I wonder what else we're walking into."

With a more defensive attitude, the team resumed their explorations. After checking out the lifeless Jaffa and looking through the immediate area for booby traps, Teal'c had returned to the anteroom, hoping that O'Neill would soon be returned to his side.

Most of the equipment in the labs appeared to be Asgard in design, but without Carter and Daniel the purpose of many of the devices remained unknown. Much of the accompanying writings were indecipherable to everyone but Bashir and McCoy who immersed themselves in them. Of some assistance was a holographic message delivered by an interesting and decidedly female Asgard figure. This non-corporeal creature offered a message about a treasure of great value which was secreted within the walls of the lab. The message made it clear that only an Ancient or perhaps someone of Ancient descent would be able to free the treasure from its hiding place by triggering a follow up message containing specific directions.

Although they'd found tissue samples and a multitude of Ancient writings during the first few hours of the search, nothing could compare to the treasure they'd stumbled upon shortly after hearing the holographic message. This find appeared to be 'the treasure' itself, just where the message had indicated it would be. As the group worked to excavate their find, they realized it was none other than the Asgard specimen mentioned during the initial SGC briefing. The specimen, apparently humanoid from what little could be seen thus far, was incredibly well preserved in a stasis pod and buried under several layers of rock.

OoOoOoOo

As Reynolds and SG3 attempted, with little success, to free the Asgard specimen, Teal'c, who had returned to the antechamber housing the sarcophagus, heard a low humming sound just behind him. To his relief, he turned to see the doors of the sarcophagus slowly opening. Checking the entrance once more, to make certain there were no hostiles approaching their position, he moved hopefully towards the Goa'uld device. Sure enough, O'Neill was sitting up, looking understandably confused and somewhat irritated, but very much alive.

"What's goin' on, T?"

"It is good to see you returned to us, O'Neill." Teal'c intoned with his customary head nod.

"Yeah? Where'd I go?" Jack quipped as he grabbed the arm Teal'c extended and pulled himself from the confined space of the sarcophagus.

"You were quite dead, my friend".

"Kind of figured _that_. Don't have much memory of the event itself, though. What's our situation? Bet they didn't just invite us in to use this thing."

"Indeed 'they' did not. And they have paid dearly for their lack of hospitality".

Looking around and making his way to the door, Jack realized his wife was not present and asked with some alarm, "T., where's Sam…. She's not …"

"Samantha returned to earth shortly after you were killed. Daniel and Lt. Carson accompanied her. We believed you would have wanted her safe and with your children."

Greatly relieved, Jack acknowledged his debt to his good friend. "You're right, T. It means everything to me that she's safe, thank you. Now what do you say we get out of here? By the way, T., where is here? "

"We are in a subterranean research lab. Apparently, this facility was initially built by the Ancients and later overtaken by Goa'uld operatives". SG3 is even now seeking to free the Asgard specimen and locate the Ancient weapon specified in our initial briefing. We will find them working on the other side of this tunnel", Teal'c explained, indicating the closest Tokra tunnel and leading his friend in that direction.

OoOoOo

Arriving in the main research facility, Jack began "So is this the lab where that Ancient weapon thingy was located or whatever it is we were looking for?" Teal'c fixed his friend with a look of infinite patience before O'Neill continued. "Hey, it would be nice to actually accomplish the mission before we go home".

"I have found nothing here which appears to be a weapon; however, I believe this room was the center of the genetic experiments to which the Asgard referred."

At that point the SGC personnel turned nearly as one and let out a whoop at seeing their leader miraculously resurrected. All but Bashir came over to greet him individually.

Soon, Jack had joined SG3 in their digging, intent on freeing the Asgard specimen from confinement for the trip back to earth. He wished Sam and Daniel were here for their technical expertise. McCoy was trying but sorely lacking in field experience.

At the same time, Jack was forever grateful to Daniel for keeping Sam out of harm's way right now. His thoughts went out to his wife and he suddenly realized how devastated she must be. She had seen him killed; had he been in her position …. He was glad Daniel was with her but knew he had to get a message to her as soon as possible. Lost in his thoughts of Sam, Jack was surprised when Reynolds approached him.

"Jack, we're getting nowhere with freeing this pod. We saw a message earlier, before you …came back…or…"

"Yeah, whatever…"

"Any way, it was an Asgard message stating only an Ancient or someone of Ancient descent could free the specimen."

"So you're thinking I'm the closest you've got."

"It looks that way"

Jack walked over to the stasis pod. He could make out the shape of the pod under the covering of rock but little progress had been made in the excavation. As Jack laid his hand on the front surface of the pod, the Asgard hologram materialized and the final instructions were delivered.

"At last, the Ancients have revisited this outpost. We are relieved that this is so and find that now we can release the treasure into trusted hands. The young Asgard male you will find in the stasis pod was created by means of genetic engineering in this very lab. He is the result of the collaboration of three races, the Asgard, the Tokra and the Ancients. Our hope is that you will see he finds his way to his Asgard family and plays his intended role in assuring the continuance of their species."

"Is it just me, or does that Asgard hologram look at lot more human than the Asgards we're used to?"

"Indeed the figure appears quite humanoid, O'Neill".

At that moment, a burst of light rapidly traversed the outline of the stasis pod. "It will now be possible for you to release the pod from its confinement by conventional means," the alien voice continued. All three of our races wish you well in your continued journeys".

Jack ran both hands through his short cropped silver hair and exhaled forcefully. "Okay, Reynolds, lets get this done, before we have anymore surprises. In the meantime, send a message topside and let them know we'll be awhile gathering some souvenirs down here. Tell them to expect us within the hour. And be sure to send a message for Sam that I'm coming home."

"What about the weapon, Ambassador?" questioned Bashir. "Surely we won't be leaving before we've found the weapons array".

"Bashir, I'm only going to say this once. I've had more than enough surprises on this little visit. We've found what the Asgard were really looking for. I'm ready to go home".

As he sprinted over to Teal'c, intent on reminding him to be sure the message was sent to Sam through the gate ASAP, he heard Reynolds' expletive, "Damn it, we can't get a message through, there's something blocking our transmission".

* * *

_I'm not one to beg, however, Alone is getting lots of hits, but not many reviews. I'm curious to know what you are thinking and feeling about this story. I'll keep updating anyway, but your comments would be helpful and make it a lot more fun for me. Thanks!_

_P.S. Many thanks to those who are reviewing!_


	10. Chapter 10 A Sleepless Night

_As he sprinted over to Teal'c, intent on reminding him to be sure the message was sent to Sam through the gate ASAP, he heard Reynolds' expletive, "Damn it, we can't get a message through, there's something blocking our transmission".__

* * *

PART 10: A SLEEPLESS NIGHT_

Sam had tried to sleep. She would lie in bed for up to an hour at a time, convincing herself that she needed the rest. When she closed her eyes, she would see Jack and feel him all around her in their bed. In itself this was a comforting sensation, yet it only served to remind her that Jack was not with her, that she was not in his arms and, in all likelihood, would never have that feeling of safety and contentment again.

So, within five minutes of closing her eyes, Sam Carter, who'd blown up a sun, survived torture by at least four alien species and saved the planet on multiple occasions, was once again in tears. Finally she gave up, pulled herself out of bed, and walked out to the deck off the family room. She settled in Jack's chair just behind his telescope and began to look at the stars.

It was a lovely clear, crisp autumn night. Sam had found herself in exactly the same position most of last night as well. Somehow she felt closer to him, out here looking at the stars. She could tell you in light years how far away he was, but the science of it all didn't really matter right now.

This was her second night staying alone with the children since she'd come home from P3X-779. Daniel and Janet had stayed, along with little Ethan, the first two nights. They were such good friends; she didn't know how she and the children would have made it through without them.

Janet had offered her some medication to help her sleep. "Safe and effective" she'd advertised. Sam had turned it down, just like she'd turned down the temptation to develop a love affair with Guinness, Jack's favorite sedative before their marriage, the past few nights. She needed to have her wits about her to deal with all of this and especially to be there for the children whenever they needed her. Sleep would happen when it happened; it's not like she hadn't been up working through the night before. In fact, those times had most often been times Jack had been missing …

Sam had been so deep into her thoughts, that she never heard Jake open the sliding glass door behind her.

"Mom, I thought you'd be cold out here."

Slightly startled, Sam turned to see here son, looking so much like his father tonight, holding the well worn afghan Sam often wrapped around herself on nights like these.

Jake moved to lay the afghan on his mother's shoulders. Then he sat silently beside her.

"Thank you, Jake. That was very thoughtful of you. Can't you sleep either?"

"I just keep having dreams about Dad and the Stargate. There are a lot of images that I don't understand. Sometimes I see Dad hurt and sick and other times he looks like he always does. Tonight, was the strangest one yet. I dreamt I was on the planet with him. Is he coming back, Mom?"

"I hope so, Jake, but I just don't know." Both mother and son lapsed into silence for a few moments, before Jake renewed the conversation.

"Did you know I asked Melissa to go to the dance next week?"

"What?" Sam asked, more than a little confused about where this conversation was going.

"I mean I asked Melissa if she'd dance with me at the school dance Friday. You know, Mom, eighth grade and all, I want to be sure somebody will dance with me if I go to those things."

Sam turned to her son with a soft, gentle smile. "And your Dad's been teaching you to dance for the occasion, hasn't he?"

"Yep, he has. He's been teaching me a lot of things."

"Hmm..?"

"Well actually, you've both been teaching me for a long time. You know, about caring for people, about love and family."

_Here come the tears again_, Sam chided herself.This was her firstborn son, handsome and brilliant, so terribly afraid of being a geek, and sensitive beyond his years.

"So what have you learned so far, Jake?"

"Well, I know that when I'm older Ineed to find someone to love the way Dad loves you. I've been watching the two of you, especially the last year or so. You are just so much in love… even now, you know, when you're older… well a little older… but it doesn't seem to matter, your age that is."

Sam found herself almost chuckling at her son's innocent reference to their ages, remembering when age had been such an obstacle to their relationship, at least from Jack's point of view. Thanks to past trips to sarcophagi and healings he'd received from the Asgard, Jack was much less bothered, physically and emotionally, by his age. This weekend, in fact, Jack and Jake had been registered for a father/son basketball tournament. Jake was quite proud of the fact that with his Dad on board, his team was undefeated.

"Mom?" Jake's voice drew Sam back from her reverie. "You okay?"

"Yes, Jake. Thank you, sweetheart."

Jake flinched, just a little, at the use of the endearment he thought he'd broken his mother of at least a year ago. "For what, Mom?"

"For reminding me of everything we've had these past few years and how grateful I am for my wonderful family."

"You know our family really is different, Mom. Most of my friends in school talk a lot about how their parents are always arguing. Some even ask me what it's like to live with both a mom and a dad. My friend Matt, his mom and dad just divorced. He says all they do is say really mean things to each other, almost all the time now. How does that happen? I sure hope that doesn't happen to me when I get married. I thought people were supposed to love one another before they made kids."

By now, Sam knew she was simply staring at Jake; she could have sworn he was channeling his father. A couple of years ago, Jack and Sam had decided it was time they sat the twins down for what Jack referred to as "the birds and the bees talk". Sam smiled to herself as she recalled how he thought they were going to do this together. She had quickly informed him that she would talk with Grace and he would have 'the talk' with their son. Jack reluctantly agreed with a look of great pain on his face. But true to his word, just two days after their discussion, she'd walked by Jake's room and heard Jack's voice speaking quietly to their son explaining important concepts of being a man, not just sex. The phrase that stuck in her head from that day was 'be sure you _really_ love the woman, _like for always_, before you make kids with her'.

"Jake, you're absolutely right, that's exactly how it's supposed to work. And if our world was perfect, it would always work like that. But people do things for all sorts of reasons. All you can do is be sure you live your life for the right reasons and find the right person to live it with. I almost didn't do that."

"What? I thought you always loved Dad."

"You thought right, Jake. I certainly did, I just didn't know how to handle it at first. I almost married someone else even after I knew I was in love with your father."

"So how did you two figure it out?"

"Jake, I'm not really sure, but I'm forever grateful that we did. Once we 'figured it out' we knew how right it was. We've had some rough times like everyone else, but I don't think we've ever questioned our decision to be together."

"I hope Dad comes back soon, Mom. I really miss him."

Sam reached over and covered her son's hand with her own. This was their son, now so much on the verge of becoming a man, and so in need of his father. "Me too, Jake," she answered, "me too."


	11. Chapter 11 What Just Happened?

_Last time:_

_Sam reached over and covered her son's hand with her own. This was their son, now so much on the verge of becoming a man, and so in need of his father. "I miss him too, Jake," she answered, "I miss him too." _

…and on P3X-779:

_As Jack sprinted over to Teal'c, intent on reminding him to be sure the message was sent to Sam through the gate ASAP, he heard Reynolds' expletive, "Damn it, we can't get a message through, there's something blocking our transmission"._

* * *

PART 11: WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

"Alright, Reynolds, so what happened to communications?"

"Don't know, sir. Something's blocking transmission, maybe an energy field. The rings are out too." After delivering less than positive news to the Ambassador, Reynolds rejoined his 2IC, Lt. Higgins, in an attempt to restore communications, while Jack move off to once and for all confront the Tokra liaison.

"That's just great! Okay, Bishop, Bishar, whatever your name is, what's going on here? I thought this was going to be a straightforward, in and out mission. We've done quite a lot of shooting for a standard recon mission."

"As we suspected, it seems others are also interested in the treasures housed in this facility. It is likely that they've attempted to sabotage our operation."

"Ya think?"

"We did believe that their attempts to garner the materials would be delayed beyond this time. I apologize for our miscalculation, Ambassador".

"Oy…" Jack by now had all he could do to keep from terminating the life of this typically aggravating Tokra. He found himself saying a silent prayer to Selmac, his honorary father-in-law, to help him control his temper. "Alright, what else do we need to know, Bashir? Everything this time; I want to know who and what we are up against."

Bashir proceeded to slowly torture Jack with the story of a Goa'uld resistance movement little known to Stargate Command. "As you well know, the Goa'uld have been on the run in most parts of this galaxy for the past 5 years, largely as a result of the successful Jaffa rebellion. Approximately 2 years ago, the Tokra High Council became aware of a small contingent of Goa'uld resistance fighters, actually scientific researchers, who had retained their Jaffa loyalists and devoted themselves to fostering the resurgence of Goa'uld dominance. We've suspected for some time that P3X-779 was a likely location for their primary research station. From what we've learned here today, I would believe this facility was overrun by the Goa'uld, Amoun, some time ago."

Teal'c joined the discussion at this time, "Amoun? I am unfamiliar with this particular Goa'uld".

Dr. McCoy spoke up at this point, more than happy to finally be able to make a contribution to this, his first off world mission. "If I may, Amoun was an Egyptian god, whose name was said to mean "hidden one". He was the patron deity of the city of Thebes and viewed as the primordial creation deity. The legend actually describes Amoun as 'an invisible creative power which was the source of all life in heaven, and on the earth, and in the great deep, and in the Underworld, and which made itself manifest under the form of Ra'."

"Oh, this just keeps getting better", Jack said, turning back to Bashir. "Alright, so it sounds like you've had a typical Tokra handle on this for sometime, as usual. So what is this 'Hidden One' up to? And do you happen to know why we can't communicate with our backup?"

"Ambassador, as you say, we have had a "handle" on the situation for a while. Personally, I believe the key is the Asgard specimen which your team is excavating. Aside from possibly being the key to the Asgard cloning problems, I would guess that the technology involved in its creation would also be invaluable in any attempt to create a more perfect Goa'uld host. As for communications, the Tokra have typically protected underground locations from outside communications and sensors in order to conceal our location. That is most likely the situation with this station, along with a likely degree of sabotage, the extent of which may not yet be fully apparent."

Teal'c, who as usual had been standing silently behind O'Neill, listening to this explanation, commented succinctly, "I believe the Tokra have participated in this very project, have they not, Bashir?"

"That is likely, or at the very least we are looking at the involvement of a Goa'uld, most likely Amoun himself, who has mastered the use of the tunnel crystals.

"So, I'm getting confused here – Amoun, 'Hidden One', Ra clone," Jack gestured nervously with his hands, "what are we talking about?"

"Sir", began McCoy, "Egyptian lore indicates that the Ra persona was simply the physical manifestation of the spirit, Amoun. I'm not really sure what this would mean here. I'd always assumed that was legend."

"The Goa'uld have routinely usurped the legends and folklore of cultures in order to enslave peoples and obtain power," Teal'c contributed.

"So you're saying what, T? Is this like a ghost snake looking for a new body?"

"I do not know O'Neill, but if I follow you correctly, it would be a possibility".

Col. Reynolds came running towards the group just as Jack felt his brain was ready to explode. "Lieutenant Higgins managed to lower the jamming field that was blocking communications."

"Well now, that's more like it Reynolds."

"I'm afraid that doesn't help very much, sir. We're getting no response from SG7. On the bright side, the rings are functional again, so we can get out of here whenever we're ready."

"Alright, I've had about enough of this place. Let's see how the excavation's going. I want to get everything out of here related to the genetic research and take it with us through the gate. Carter and Daniel can do their thing when we get back.

Within another hour, research materials had been gathered from the lab and the team had succeeded in freeing the Asgard specimen from his rocky grave. The stasis pod was draped with an opaque, protective covering and added to the gear within the rings for transport to the surface.

Once everything was in place, Jack, Teal'c and their team ringed up from the underground compound. The sight that greeted them was not what they had expected. It began with the odd sensation of being transported by the rings into a wide open area, with no sign of the reconnaissance station. There was, in fact, no sign that a structure had ever sat on that spot of land and no sign whatsoever of an underground facility. O'Neill and Reynolds immediately exchanged worried glances.

"Treeline … now", Jack barked out.

The team deliberately made their way towards the stargate, with their treasures in tow. As the station had originally been only 2 clicks from the gate, it wasn't long before, from their cover of vegetation, they were able to spot the location where they had left the gate.

It was clear there had been a pitched battle in the immediate area. They could see blackened, still steaming sections of ground and rock. But in a matter of minutes they saw their primary problem – the gate was gone!

* * *

_I realize I'm using or am going to use just about every science fiction device that we've seen in the series to explain departures from logic in the action/adventure part of this story. What can I say! I love sci-fi! _

_Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated and will help me make this better. Thanks_


	12. Chapter 12 Living Life

_It was clear there had been a pitched battle in the immediate area. They could see blackened, still steaming sections of ground and rock. But in a matter of minutes they saw their primary problem – the gate was gone!_

* * *

PART 12: LIVING LIFE

It had been nearly 10 days since SGs 1 and 3 had left on a routine scientific mission. Over one week ago, SG7, their backup, had returned without them and with no clue as to their whereabouts. At that point, Generals Landry and Hammond had sent urgent messages to off world allies, particularly the Asgard, requesting help in find the missing teams. Unfortunately no timely help was available from either the Tokra or the Asgard.

Just two days ago, SG7 had returned to the planet with fresh resolve and specialized equipment to augment aerial surveys from UAVs sent through the gate. Yet after another 48 hour period of intensive searching, there was still no sign of the team. At that point, the powers that be made the decision to suspend the search with a fairly certain assumption that the men were no longer on P3X-779.

OoOoOo

Sam and the children had stayed pretty close to home since her return from the planet, occasionally going to visit the Jacksons or playing hosts to other good friends from the base, particularly George Hammond. All the while, in the back of everyone's mind was the hope that Jack would return at any moment.

Early on, Col. Mitchell had called Sam's brother Mark to tell him that Jack was missing. Cam meant well. He believed that Sam should have family with her at a time like this. Mark called within the day, but Sam turned down his offer of a family visit. It was too soon; to have them with her now would feel like Jack was really dead and the family was coming for a funeral.

But she had seen Jack die and for all she knew, he was truly gone. Maybe, it was more than time for a memorial service. But others were missing too; what about them and their families?

Cam Mitchell had made a statement that "the not knowing must be the hardest part". Sam had replied that this wasn't really true. And it wasn't. So long as she didn't know for sure, there was some hope, no matter how small, that Jack would come back to her and their children.

The younger children, Jon and Beth, were becoming more and more insecure and clingy.

They couldn't understand why they couldn't visit their daddy. How could they understand? Try as she might, Sam didn't know what to tell them. But tell them something, she must, and soon.

It was time for this family to start living their lives again. Sam knew this without doubt. She also knew it would be hard to do her part. She could send the children back to school, encourage them to pick up their lives with their friends, but she wasn't sure she was up to doing the same. More and more, she just wanted to stay in the house, locked away from everyone. Maybe with the kids back in school, it would be even quieter and she could forget, just forget everything that hurt.

She shook herself at the thought. '_Jack would kick my ass if he heard me talk like that!'_

The O'Neill family needed their friends and sure enough, they'd been invited to the Jacksons' for a barbecue tonight. '_Okay, enough of this_, Sam thought. _Tonight's the time for the O'Neills to get back to their lives. When Jack comes home, I want him to see his family alive and well. And until I know otherwise, I'm going to assume he's coming home.' _

OoOoOo

According to plan, the O'Neill SUV pulled into the driveway of the Jackson home right at 1700 hours. There to greet them were Janet, Daniel -- carrying Ethan -- George Hammond and Hank Landry. Jake took Grace and Jon out back for a quick pick up basketball game before supper. George and Hank, as they insisted on being called at these gatherings, sat watching the older children from the deck, all the while playing honorary grandfathers to Beth and Ethan, and loving every minute of it.

Daniel started the grill, with Janet and Sam flanking him on either side. "I'm not sure I need this much supervision, ladies", he quipped.

"Don't worry, Daniel. I think I'm the one who needs a little supervision, or at least advice, right now".

"Sure thing, Sam. My wife knows I'm the 'Dear Daniel' of the neighborhood. Right honey?" he said, speaking pointedly to Janet, who frequently teased that he gave all the female advice columnists competition.

Janet threw him a look and turned to her friend. "What do you need, Sam?"

"I need to get the O'Neill family moving, Janet. It's been nearly two weeks. I want to see all of us back to some kind of normal routine."

"I'd say you're all doing as well as anyone could expect, given the situation," Janet volunteered.

"Janet, I want to see the kids back in school with their friends, me back at work. It's time. I'll wait for Jack forever, but we need to live our lives."

So that night before dessert, with the younger children sitting on the laps of their honorary grandfathers, Sam told the children that everyone would be returning to school or work on Monday morning. She was quick to add that she or one of the Jacksons would be only a phone call away if any one of them needed to talk.

Jon had politely raised his hand in this impromptu extended family meeting to ask, "But what if they send Dad home from the hospital and no one's there when he gets home?"

"Well when the doctor sends your Dad home, he'll be feeling well enough to take care of himself and the first thing he'll do is call your Mom."

"But Aunt Janet, what if he thinks we forgot about him. After all, we haven't even talked to him since he's been in the hospital."

"I'm sure your Dad would never think any of you 'forgot about him', Jon. He's just too sick and too far away to have visitors right now."

Jon didn't respond to Daniel, but sat quietly until the group began to break up.

Sam had gone off with Janet and Jake to wash dishes while Grace entertained 6 month old Ethan and little Beth. Daniel took the opportunity to make his way over to Jon, who still hadn't moved from his seat.

"Hey, Jon, what's going on? I've got a pretty cool Xbox game we could play for a bit."

"No thanks, Uncle Daniel. I just want to sit by myself for awhile." Jon looked up at Daniel and there were tears in his eyes. "I want to see my Dad. I don't know why Mom won't take me to see him. Doesn't she love Dad anymore?"

Daniel thought carefully about what he could tell his nephew. There were no easy answers in all of this. How did you ask kids to go on with their lives when they were still missing a parent and you couldn't tell them what was really happening? Eight year old Jon was probably in the most difficult position of all. A bright, adventurous boy, he understood just enough to be very concerned for his father yet not enough to comprehend his dad's mysterious disappearance.

"Let's take a walk, Jon. We've got a lot to talk about."

* * *

_Please let me know what you think so far. Constructive criticism greatly appreciated._


	13. Chapter 13 Growing Up

"_Let's take a walk, Jon. We've got a lot to talk about."_

* * *

PART 13: GROWING UP

They'd gone about half a mile from the house, before Daniel started, "Your mother will never stop loving your dad." Daniel paused and walked besides Jon a bit further, waiting for a cue from the young boy before he continued.

"Then why doesn't she want to see him; why can't we go?"

"Jon, your mom and dad do some very exciting, very dangerous work for the military. Most of it is top secret. Do you know what that means?"

"I know Dad always says he can't talk about work and Mom won't let me listen to lots of her phone calls. They've told me that I'm still too young to know very much about what they do."

"Well, that's true. It also means that things happen to your parents at their job that couldn't happen where other parents work. So when your dad is hurt at work, lots of times he can't be helped at a regular hospital."

"He's going to die, Uncle Daniel, isn't he?" By now, Jon had stopped and turned to face Daniel. Jon was embarrassed to feel tears making their way down his cheeks and violently wiped them away.

"We don't know, Jon. None of us know what's going to happen and its making us all very sad. By the way, it's okay to cry."

"No, it's not! Dad wouldn't cry."

"Oh, yeah? I've seen your dad cry. He cries when he's really worried that you or your mom might be hurt. Of course, just like you he tries hard to be sure no one sees the tears.

Crying is just a normal way of expressing how sad you are. If you didn't cry right now, I'd be worried."

Daniel and Jon continued walking for nearly an hour that cool fall evening. Little else was said, yet Jon knew clearly that his Uncle Daniel would continue to walk with him, in any way he was needed, in the days ahead.

OoOoO

Back at the Jackson home, both Sam and Janet had just completed phone conversations with their children. Daniel had used his cell to ring Sam so Jon could let her know the walkers were on there way back; Janet had just been talking with Cassie.

Cassie had called Sam shortly after P3X-779 to express her support and tell her she was coming home to be with family. Tonight, she'd called Janet to say that her plane would be getting in early tomorrow morning. Rather than drive home and back, Sam decided the O'Neills would make the visit a sleepover and be around to welcome Cassie home in the morning.

This would be Cassie's first trip home in nearly 6 months, what with post-doctoral studies and the demands of her research fellowship. Sam regretted that the reunion had to be under these circumstances. Jack had always been a father figure for Cassie and Sam knew she was hurting too. She had to admit, as hard as it might be, Cassie belonged with family during this time and everyone would benefit from her presence.

Beth had been put to sleep an hour ago. The twins were in the next room with the Xbox and seemed to be having a good time deep in competition with each other. Daniel had returned with Jon and finally interested him in a computer game focused on Indiana Jones style archeological exploration (what else?). Janet and Sam, finally alone with each other and their thoughts, sat quietly in the living room.

All of a sudden, the sound of tiny feet on the stairway alerted Sam and Janet to the arrival of little Beth. Sam got up and walked over to the stairway. She scooped up her daughter and brought her over to Janet on the sofa. "Beth, I thought you were sleeping," Sam said with a slightly concerned tone.

"Bad dream, mommy," the little girl answered, her bottom lip quivering and her lids heavy with sleep. Beth remembered that her parents had told her the things she saw in her dreams weren't real. But she didn't actually understand why she would see them if they weren't real.

"Daddy went away. He's mad at me," Beth continued.

"Baby, why would Daddy be mad at you?" Sam asked, feeling an extra pang of regret at the thought that her daughter might believe she'd caused her father's absence.

"'member, I broke his yo-yo …"

At the mention of the yo-yo, Sam actually stifled a chuckle, recalling an incident a month ago where Jon had enlisted Beth's help in a practical joke directed at his older brother. Jon, using all his ingenuity, had planned to jury-rig a trap for his brother with a trip wire that would activate when Jake opened his bedroom door. Of course he needed a trip wire and put his younger sister up to getting one. Jon had decided the string from Jack's _favorite_ yo-yo would be just the thing. Unfortunately for the plot, Daddy walked into the den with a pile of paperwork in his arms and just about fell over a certain little girl plopped in the middle of the floor pulling apart his yo-yo, much like she would an Oreo cookie. The trademark, "For crying out loud", was out of his mouth before the last of the papers hit the floor.

"Beth, Daddy wasn't really mad at you. He just let you know that it's not okay to break other people's things." Turning the little girl's face directly towards her own, she said gently and clearly, "Daddy isn't sick because of you, honey. In fact, I know that he'll do everything he can to get well faster just so that he can come home to his baby girl very soon."

Despite her mother's reassurances, this was yet another night that Beth ended up crawling into bed with her mother and not leaving her side till the morning.

OoOoOo

Two days later the 3 oldest children did return to school. It wasn't an easy adjustment for anyone. For Sam, it meant letting go of children who had, despite her intent to be their source of strength and comfort, quickly become her constants in a sea of turmoil. For the kids, it meant attempting to focus on peers and grades while they still didn't know their father's fate. Last but not least, for the teachers, the return of the O'Neill children meant the need to help those particular students, and their classmates, deal with the uncertainties of life. The reality was that at any moment, for any of them, the life they knew could be turned upside down; for the time being the O'Neills were reminders of that often forgotten fact.

Although it was clear from an early age that both Jake and Grace were academically gifted, Jack and Sam had opted to have them remain with their age mates and not skip ahead in grade. Jack had somewhat reluctantly accepted the idea of advanced placement classes, yet remained a bit fearful of his kids becoming unadulterated "egg heads". As he saw it, he could live with kids who were brilliant like their mother, but not unbearably pompous and socially maladjusted like some other scientists he'd come to detest over the years.

On this particular day both students were in the advanced placement chemistry lab for junior high students. Normally, Grace in particular, was especially adept at managing the intricacies of the basic lab set-up, but today, she was badly off her game. She'd managed to break 3 empty test tubes, knock over a classmate's book and just now she'd nearly lit a notebook on fire. That was the final straw and the instructor came over, clearly distraught about the near miss that could have injured at least one of her students.

Mrs. Scott, in her early 40s, was an experienced teacher. She'd prevented many mishaps in her lab by her vigilance and was disappointed in herself that she hadn't paid more attention to Grace's distractibility today. Like the other faculty, she'd been briefed about the "illness" in the O'Neill family, so when she called Grace to talk with her privately, she had some idea what was affecting her most promising student. While the teaching assistant took over the class and Jake watched with concern from the other side of the lab, Grace, her face downcast and color ashen, approached her favorite teacher, very embarrassed by her out of character clumsiness.

"Grace, are you alright?" Mrs. Scott began. "This isn't like you at all".

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Scott. I can't concentrate at all; I just keep thinking about my dad. He's very sick in the hospital and I don't know if he is going to get better".

Although the teacher knew little of the situation, she did know Grace's parents were career military and involved in some top secret activities. To her credit, she was not one to hunt for information and simply encouraged Grace to express herself. Grace took the opportunity to vent her frustration and fear.

Nearly 20 minutes later, Grace and Mrs. Scott came out of the office. The assigned experiment had been completed by the class without further interruption. Jake was relieved to see his sister return with slightly more color to her face and immediately went over to her as the bell rang for the end of the period. Mrs. Scott used the break to phone Sam at the mountain and suggest that she come for the children today, rather than let them take the bus home.

OoOoOo

Sam had started a new daily routine to be sure that she was home to welcome the children when they came home from school. She planned to keep this up until Jack came home and things were back to normal.

She'd leave the SGC by 1500, pick up Beth at daycare and be home before Jon's bus pulled in at 1530. As scheduled, the twins usually pulled in a half hour later

But today, she'd gone directly to the school with Beth in tow after she'd received Mrs. Scott's call. Within 10 minutes, she'd collected Grace, Jake and Jon and started home.

The boys teased each other about something Sam didn't even begin to listen to and Beth sang a rather annoying nursery rhyme, all the way home. Grace sat silently, staring out the window, having ignored all of her mother's attempts at conversation since she'd first arrived at the school.

Once inside, Grace went directly to her room and slammed the door. Jake, Jon and Beth stared after their sister then continued on with their activities while Sam approached Grace's door and knocked.

"What?" came the very familiar response.

"Grace, it's your mother, I'd like to talk with you".

After a few moments Sam heard pounding feet coming across the bedroom floor. Grace opened the door a crack and went back to sit at her desk.

"What's wrong, Grace? Did something happen at school?"

"What's wrong? How can you ask what's wrong? Our family is falling apart, Dad is gone and you ask what's wrong! You expect us to go on like nothing's happened. How am I supposed to do that, Mom? How?"

Sam reeled from the verbal barrage unleashed by her daughter. "Are you done?" After a brief pause and a deep breath she continued, "Grace, yes, our family is hurting and we're worried and we miss your dad. We are not falling apart and I don't expect you to go on ….perfectly. But I do expect you to go on … and so would your father."

Receiving and expecting no answer at that point, Sam left quietly, gently closing the door behind her.

By the time 2000 hours rolled around, Grace had finally come downstairs, much to Sam's relief. Sam was in the kitchen, popping a second bag of microwave popcorn, the traditional snack for 'Simpsons watching'.

"I'm really sorry, Mom," she began, going over to Sam and wrapping her arms around her mother. Sam quickly returned the gesture, her eyes misting with tears.

"I know you are sweetheart. We're all in this together, you know that, right?" she said, fixing her daughter with a serious yet compassionate gaze.

"I know, Mom. I just can't stop thinking about where he might be, what he's doing".

"Neither can I, sweetheart. I think about your dad every minute of every day."

Grace saw the tears in her mother's eyes and realized afresh that she was not alone in her fears. She regretted that she had caused her mother more pain today and found herself with a bit more understanding of what her mom was trying to accomplish, holding on to some normal activities as they waited.

"Now, what do you say we join Beth and your brothers in the family room? It is Simpsons' night after all. You get the popcorn, Okay?"

"Okay, Mom; I'm coming".

OoOoOo

Just as Sam was getting ready to turn out the last light after a very long day, the door bell rang. It was George Hammond.

"General Hammond, it's good to see you, come in".

Stepping into the den quietly, so as not to wake the children, the man who was really "Uncle George" to Sam began, "I wanted to update you personally on what we know about the situation on P3X-779".

From the sad formal tone he used, Sam knew there was little to look forward to in this message and decided to focus on a social visit. "General, please make yourself comfortable, what can I get for you?"

"I'm fine, Sam. Just come sit with a tired old General, will you?"

"Tired, maybe, sir, but never old."

"You look tired, Sam. Have you been sleeping at all? And don't lie to me; I've known you since you were younger than Beth."

"It's been hard, but you know that. What news do you have, sir?"

"SG7 came back this morning. They made an extensive search of the area where the reconnaissance station had been located. There was nothing there, no sign that anything or anyone had ever been there. Sam, the last they'd heard from Homer and Garland was that the team had gone into an underground lab in search of the sarcophagus. After that, there's been no more news. They've done soundings where the compound would have been, but nothing."

"There must be some sort of energy field blocking transmissions, or a cloak…"

"That's what everyone at the SGC thought initially Sam, but what would have triggered it? Initially Homer and Garland gave pretty clear descriptions of a set of rings and a small reconnaissance station. Now the same area is totally empty".

"General, we'll need to send out another team, one equipped with more specialized sensors. I'm sure Thor could help us with that".

"Sam, that's a problem. We tried to contact the planet soon after SG7 came through. The Gate won't connect. We've tried to reach the Asgard, but there's been no response. The Daedelus is on its way back from Pegasus; I suspect they'll be ordered to swing by P3X-779 on the way home and take a look. I'm afraid that's the best we can do right now. To be honest we're not certain they're still on the planet. At this point, we have no choice but to declare them all missing in action.

Over the past few days, Sam had feared it might come to this. Each small piece of information about fruitless searches had added to the slowly rising panic. This was the next step, an official statement that they were missing. Her team had been missing before and they'd come back from worse situations, hadn't they?

* * *

_Hope you are continuing to enjoy the story; I'm planning about 4 more chapters. Appreciate any and all reviews!_


	14. Chapter 14 Going Home

_Over the past few days, Sam had feared it might come to this. Each small piece of information about fruitless searches had added to the slowly rising panic. This was the next step, an official statement that they were missing. Her team had been missing before and they'd come back from worse situations, hadn't they? _

* * *

PART 14: GOING HOME

The next day, George Hammond sat down with General Landry and representatives of Homeworld Security. As Hammond had anticipated, the Daedelus was ordered to scan P3X-779 from orbit for any sign of the missing team members. At best speed on their present course, it would take them 4 days to arrive from Pegasus. The assembled leaders all but acknowledged that it was likely the team, including Teal'c and Jack O'Neill, had already been transported off the planet or were in fact, dead.

OoOoOo

On P3X-779, Jack and the team had just arrived on the surface and found the gate missing.

"Oh, for crying out loud, what is going on here? Can anything else happen on this mission?" O'Neill bellowed in frustration.

The seven SGC personnel, along with Bashir, made their way to the original location of the gate. Both the gate and the DHD had vanished as if they had never existed.

"We know the gate was here and so was SG7, up until a few hours ago, when we transported to the lab".

"So where are they now?"

"I'm picking up multiple energy weapon signatures in the area," Lt. Higgins volunteered.

"Staff weapon blasts?"

"No sir, I believe the area was bombarded from orbit".

"So its possible SG7 didn't make it?"

"Jack, if they were here when this bombardment occurred, I don't think they could have survived". Dave Reynolds said.

Jack paled somewhat at the thought of loosing the entire team that had come to watch their six. "We'd better stop and reassess our situation, Dave. Options, anyone?"

"I see none related to leaving this planet, O'Neill. I believe our priority is to maintain the integrity of the team until rescue can be effected."

"You know how I love sitting by and doing nothing, T."

"Indeed. I'll take first watch," Teal'c replied in a matter of fact manner.

It was rapidly getting dark and most of the team had had no sleep in the nearly 48 hours they'd been on the planet. However, sleep was the last thing on Jack O'Neill's mind right now. After setting up a camp site of sorts, he paced the perimeter trying to make some sense of what was happening.

As he completed his uneventful rounds for the umpteenth time, he caught sight of something a bit more interesting -- the flash of a Goa'uld long range communication device. None other than his favorite Tokra of all time, the current bane of his existence, was speaking in hushed tones to a comrade, probably light years away.

Infuriated, Jack walked up to Bashir from behind and snatched the device from his hand.

"Okay, next chapter, Bushey. What game are you playing with us?"

"Ambassador, I do regret the amount of subterfuge we've needed in this mission and I can understand how bad it looks to you."

"No, Bishar, I don't think you do. Right now you're looking a lot like a Goa'uld to me."

"I am _not_ a Goa'uld, Ambassador. I am here on a mission of vital importance to the Tokra. As you know, the Tokra, much like the Asgard, are a dying race. Long before the downfall of the Goa'uld, it had been difficult to find willing hosts for our symbiotes. The Tokra I represent believe that the specimen you have recovered is a model for the perfect host which would be able to sustain cloning procedures as needed. The stakes were too high to leave to a single Tauri team, despite the confidence of the Asgard in SG1."

"The battle which led to the destruction you now see on this planet was waged between the forces of Amoun and the Tokra for whom I am a scout. We have been tracking the Amoun entity for some time now. Our intelligence determined that Amoun was making his play for the Asgard specimen sooner than we thought. That is why our fleet followed and engaged them here.

"Alright, so where are they now? And where the hell is the gate?"

"I can only surmise that this battle ended in a stalemate and both fleets have departed the vicinity. It is likely that a cloak of some sort was triggered following our skirmish with the Jaffa in the research lab. To the best of our knowledge, this was a failsafe device intended to prevent a group like ourselves stealing the specimen. It only activated once the giant Jaffa was neutralized."

"And the gate?"

"The Tokra have been aware of research done by the remnant Goa'uld in the area of cloaking technology. Much of what we believe they accomplished was built on information they pilfered from the original Ancient/Asgard lab. From my time reviewing the documents we found in the lab, I believe they were able to expand the cloak to cover large areas, possibly the gate itself."

"So the gate may still be here."

"It is possible, Ambassador".

By this time, Teal'c hearing the lengthy conversation and O'Neill's agitated voice, had come to join the two, accompanied by Higgins and Dr. McCoy. While these three moved to surround Bashir, O'Neill, held his hands to his head and grimaced.

"There's been an awful lot of fuss over this specimen. I think it's about time I got a good look at what we all seem to be fighting over."

Jack walked over to the stasis pod, now simply sitting in the midst of cartons of materials they'd retrieved from the lab. As he pulled back the opaque covering to reveal the cloned figure, what he saw caused him to stand back and freeze in place.

Finally, to no one in particular, he said in amazement, "It's Jake, it's my son."

OoOoOo

Meanwhile, Thor, still the supreme commander of the Asgard fleet (3 cloned bodies removed), had made his way to '779. Although, as usual, he'd been occupied elsewhere when O'Neill got himself in trouble, he'd finally come to the rescue. Within 30 seconds of his arrival planet side, Thor beamed his Tauri Ambassador, looking beside himself with confusion, to the bridge of the Asgard vessel, The Samantha O'Neill.

When he'd recovered enough to realize exactly where he was, Jack began, "You really should stop doing that, old buddy. Not that I'm ungrateful right about now. In fact, I'm very glad you showed up when you did."

"I am also glad to see you, O'Neill. Your world had great fear that you were lost to them."

"Not lost, just a little delayed. That reminds me, I think you'll be glad to see what we found in our little treasure hunt.

"You are correct, O'Neill, I have been most anxious to see the results of your mission.

General Hammond contacted me over one week ago in your time, requesting our assistance in recovering the team. I regret that we were unable to come sooner."

"Better late than never, but what's this about a week ago? We've only been on that planet 3 days".

"I believe that the energy field you encountered on the planet, when combined with the unique atmosphere of the world itself triggered a time dilation effect, not unlike the one you encountered in our battles with the Replicators. In fact after more consideration, it would appear this is one of the reasons the Goa'uld were interested in the planet. Actually, it's been exactly two of your weeks since you embarked through the Stargate to P3X-779."

"Two weeks! Thor, buddy, I need to contact Sam right away; we haven't had any communications on the planet because of that energy field. She thinks I'm dead. I _have to_ talk with her! Let's do the hologram thingy."

"I regret that this is impossible, O'Neill. The communications array on the Samantha O'Neill is also being effectively blocked as long as we remain in the vicinity of the planet. However, as soon as your friends and the cargo are loaded, we can be in Earth orbit in mere minutes, as you are aware."

Jack calmed slightly at Thor's words. After 2 weeks, probably an hour or so wait wasn't too much to ask. Of course he quickly figured out that the wait for Sam would probably be more like another day. Time dilation, relativity, it all gave him a headache. God… he needed Sam to explain it all to him. Who was he kidding, he just needed Sam. Right now he needed to ease his own mind by comforting her. He could imagine the hell these past two weeks had been for her, because he could imagine his feelings were their positions reversed. And how were the kids handling this? What had she told them? What _could_ she tell them?"

"One more thing, Thor. Before we get on with this loading operation, the specimen you were searching for looks awfully familiar to me. Is there anything you think I should know? Loki wouldn't be interfering again, would he?"

"Undoubtedly you refer to the fact that the ancient Asgard specimen resembles your son, Jake."

"And why would that be, I wonder?"

"I hesitate to explain this to you O'Neill without Col. Carter's assistance as this involves concepts of relativity and multiphasic universes which I've learned tend to be troublesome for you."

"How about a _simple_ answer? And is Jake in any danger?"

"If you recall the incident with your clone, that was a misguided attempt by Loki to harvest your DNA which we were certain would produce a viable cloned body and assist us in our current dilemma."

"Yeah, I recall. The attempt was a pretty dismal failure, if the rest of my memory is accurate".

"Unfortunately, yes. At that point in our research we were missing the final component of the equation which would have allowed the project to be successful. Our initial miscalculation was to look to your generation for our answer. In fact we learned from exploring this planet that the very experiments we were considering had been done long ago and had produced the specimen you have now retrieved for us."

Jack simply stood, looking at Thor with his mouth half opened. He really needed Sam to explain this to him – if she could.

"Not Jake, right?

"No, the specimen you found is certainly not your son. However our assumption is that he was most likely created by DNA contributions from Ancients who greatly resembled yourself and Col. Carter."

"Okay, old buddy, you are loosing me again. You are trying to say that Sam and I, thousands of years ago … what?"

"In simplest terms, O'Neill, several patterns of what you call DNA recur throughout the known universes. Certain patterns when combined will produce offspring which are most likely to survive and prosper. Indeed some of these combinations will recur over time as was the case with the pattern which most recently produced Jake O'Neill. Therefore, although Jake himself is not part of the Asgard solution, in many ways the genetic inheritance that currently belongs to your family will likely allow us to flourish once more as a race."

"I won't pretend I understood much of that old buddy, but I'm glad for you and glad we could help. Now about getting home to my family…"

OoOoOo

Jack tried to calm his thoughts during the next hour. Certainly he was busy enough, carefully stowing materials from the team's exploration of the subterranean lab. But Sam was foremost in his thoughts. If he were honest, he wouldn't have it any other way. After almost fourteen years he remained entranced by Samantha Carter (now O'Neill), and deeply, abidingly in love. At the beginning, he couldn't imagine what such an incredible woman saw in him. When he looked in the mirror in those days, he'd seen a beaten down, aging military man whose best years were behind him. Allowing himself to love Sam and to be loved by her in return, spun that image on its head. In her eyes, Jack had found a true image of himself as honorable and even heroic (not to mention, devastatingly handsome). In her heart, which she chose to share freely with him, he'd found a depth of love and understanding which healed more wounds than he'd known he'd had. And in her touch, in her selfless devotion, he'd found ultimate redemption and acceptance.

This was the woman who was now and always the focus of his thoughts. The woman who had borne him four incredible children and who was even now laboring under the belief that she had lost him forever. Amidst the wonders he'd discovered the past few days, all he could focus on was the surety that he was the luckiest man in the world whose single minded goal was to return to his family without delay.

* * *

_The hit counter for the story seems to be frozen; please review, so I have some idea if folks are still reading! Thanks !_


	15. Chapter 15 No Longer Alone

_Amidst the wonders he'd discovered the past few days, all Jack could focus on was the surety that he was the luckiest man in the world whose single minded goal was to return to his family without delay._

* * *

PART 15: NO LONGER ALONE

Once Sam had returned to work, she was relieved to find she had something to work with, a way she could contribute to bringing Jack home without risking her life on the planet. In the atmospheric readings and subterranean soundings SG7 had taken, she had the first objective clues to what really happened on P3X-779.

She was in her lab, trying in vain to interpret the information and to make peace with the mounds of work that had accumulated during the time she'd been off base. Both efforts seemed to be hopeless. Her concentration was poor, to say the least. Her eyes kept wandering to some of Jack's favorite doohickeys in the lab. Strange as it might be to other people, her husband's penchant for coming into the lab and playing with her experiments just seemed to increase her efficiency and motivation. Without him, everything was different.

Everything was _so_ different. She missed him. The hole in her heart felt bigger each day. It had been two weeks. She was physically and emotionally exhausted and she looked the part. How would she survive a longer period alone, without the man she'd loved for over twenty years? She had to find a way to bring Jack home.

Their fourteenth wedding anniversary was in another two weeks. Sam's eyes misted over as she recalled last year's celebration and remembered how happy they'd all been that day. Soon her eyes focused on the one part of last year's anniversary present that she'd been able to bring with her to the lab. There on the far end of the counter was the framed homemade card which had accompanied last year's gift from Jack and the children.

As she stretched one arm over the counter to reach the card, totally lost in her intent to bring the cherished item out of its hiding place, she felt a hand close over her other hand on the counter behind her. Immediate recognition flashed through her mind; she caught her breathe, slowing turning just enough to see the face she'd been craving.

"Sam…"

She was in his arms in seconds, clinging to him, now sobbing uncontrollably, the grief of the past days rapidly pouring from her soul.

His arms tightened around her. He placed rapid, feather light kisses over her face and neck before capturing her mouth in one searing kiss. Sam continued to cling to him as if her life depended on the contact and for the moment it did. For his part, Jack ran his fingers through her hair and caressed her cheek, bringing her eyes up to meet his own. The two lovers stayed locked in each other's embrace and lost in each other's gaze for what seemed like eternity. They rocked with a fluidity of motion intended to calm their frayed emotions and reassure each other that they had been reunited.

After awhile, Sam pulled back just far enough to see Jack clearly as she lovingly stroked his face, her gentle smile belying the tears that still fell unimpeded.

"You're okay?

"Yeah, more than okay, you know those things, every time I'm in there I come back 10 years younger."

"Don't joke, Jack; I thought I lost you." Despite the tremor in her voice, Jack knew that Sam was irritated at his lame attempt at humor.

He whispered an "I'm sorry" as he pressed a kiss into her hair and pulled her to his chest once again. "I'm so sorry, Sam."

They simply held each other for several minutes, reveling in the security of the embrace and the familiar scent of the beloved.

All too soon, they were startled by two airmen who came to the door of the lab to investigate the energy registered by Thor's transporter.

"Colonel, we registered an energy transmission…" the young airman stopped in his tracks whether from the shock of witnessing the intimate embrace or from the miraculous return of Ambassador O'Neill it was hard to tell.

"At ease, airmen", Jack called with an air of reassurance to the two young men. Still holding his wife, Jack relaxed his grip slightly and turned towards the intruders. "Give us a minute, will you? Let Landry know everything is fine and I'll be down to see him in a few. Can you do that for us?"

"Yes, sir," came the immediate response from both and Jack could swear he saw the faintest of smiles on the faces of the normally stoic guards.

Once the airmen had left, Jack and Sam reluctantly broke apart and sat down, facing each other, fingers still entwined. After a few moments of silence, sitting knee to knee, never breaking eye contact, Jack began "You look so tired, are you going to be okay?"

"Now you're back I'll be just fine. I'm sorry, Jack."

"Sorry for what?"

"For leaving you behind. God knows I didn't want to go." Sam's voice was no more than a whisper, her eyes never leaving her husband's.

"Listen to me, Sam. You did what we'd agreed we'd do a long time ago. You came home safely to our children. And you hardly left me alone. The way I hear it, Teal'c carried me where I needed to go."

Despite his absolution, Jack could see his wife's eyes still pleading with him for forgiveness. He squeezed her hands tightly and began again "You stayed with our children and that's the part that only you could do, Sam. Believe me, I know that; if you search your heart, you'll know it too." At that Jack pulled himself closer to her again and gently placed one hand on either side of her face, causing yet more tears to fall.

"I love you, Jack O'Neill."

"And I love you, Sam, that's never going to change."

Sam's face began to brighten and Jack felt a bit relieved. "As much as I'd like to just take you home to the kids, I'm afraid we'll need to debrief and I'll have to be interrogated by the Doc, right?

"Don't think we can avoid it, Jack."

"How are the kids, Sam?"

"They've had a hard time. They can only understand so much and we've all been so afraid you might not be coming home. Beth thought it was her fault. I think Jon and Grace were mad at me and Jake, well Jake just tried very hard to take care of everyone else. We all missed you so much, Jack. Let's call them before we go to medical."

Jack readily agreed and proceeded to call the Jackson home where Sam knew the younger children would be staying at the current midday hour. After arranging to meet everyone at their own home once the debriefing and medical clearance were completed, Jack and Sam made their way to the infirmary.

"So how did you manage to bypass medical and get to my lab first," Sam questioned, as they walked through the corridor to the infirmary.

"Helps to have friends in high places. Thor knew where you were and beamed me outside the door to surprise you. Hey, if I came in the front door, that Napoleonic power monger would have kept me from my beautiful wife for hours!"

"I thought that was your nickname for Janet. You could at least come up with an original insult for Dr. Janeway."

"I'll give it a shot. You're right, I have a reputation to uphold", Jack quipped with his trademark grin.

As usual Jack complained vociferously about the thoroughness of the exam and the need to be poked and prodded. After all, he protested, he'd been healed by one advanced race and just examined by another, much friendlier one, so what could the new dragon lady tell him. '_Dragon lady, now that would be an apt name,'_ he thought. The only redeeming part of the exam was that Sam was allowed to stay for just about all of it, largely because she insisted and outranked Dr. Janeway.

When it was time for the psychiatric clearance, Jack didn't fare quite as well. The current ranking psychiatrist, actually, the original Dr. McKenzie's son, was having none of the companion idea where Sam would stick around. So Jack just suffered through the insufferable list of questions he needed to answer to prove his basic sanity before they would let him leave the base.

Finally, the couple made their way, arm in arm, to the briefing room, where they joined Generals Landry and Hammond as well as Teal'c and the balance of the P3X-779 teams. They were greeted by Hank Landry, "Good of you to join us Ambassador and Colonel O'Neill. I've heard tell you took quite a round about way of getting to this little shindig, Jack. More important things to do, no doubt."

"Actually, yes, Hank. After two weeks, my wife and kids are definitely more important than any meeting I can imagine," Jack replied, grinning at Sam and avoiding Hank's eyes altogether.

As Jack and Sam made their way to the seats that were waiting for them, Sam stopped behind Teal'c, placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke a soft "thank you". Teal'c nodded solemnly in response.

The O'Neills sat side by side for the debriefing, with Sam holding Jack's hand just out of sight under the table. The meeting went on for a solid two hours; there was a great deal of new information to report, beginning with the extraordinary discovery of the Asgard specimen and ending with the detection of a less than principled Tokra plot to actually commandeer the Asgard prize.

In the end, it was clear that the Asgard had been presented with a great boon to the future of their race. While Jack had been with Sam, Thor had briefed Gen. Landry. He had explained that the Ancient technology that produced the specimen from the lab was just the help the Asgard needed to finally perfect their cloning program. In return for the extraordinary assistance of the Tauri in yet another mission to benefit his race, the Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet had pledged ongoing technical support to Stargate Command for as long as it was needed.

At last the debriefing was over. Hammond got up and properly welcomed Jack home with a very macho embrace. "Glad to have you back, son. You had us pretty worried for awhile there. Now get out of here and go home to your family."

"Yes, sir, Jack responded with enthusiasm. And it's good to be back."

* * *

_Two more generally upbeat chapters to go._

_Love your reviews. _

_Hope you liked Part I of the reunion. You'll see the family reunited in Part II. Please let me know what you think._


	16. Chapter 16 We Love You, Daddy

_At last the debriefing was over and Hammond got up and properly welcomed Jack home with a very macho embrace. "Glad to have you back, son. You had us pretty worried for awhile there. Now get out of here and go home to your family."_

"_Yes, sir, Jack responded with enthusiasm. And it's good to be back."_

* * *

PART 16: WE LOVE YOU, DADDY

The phone rang and Cassie answered, "Jackson residence".

"Cassie, is that you?"

"Uncle Jack?" Cassie shrieked.

"Yep, it's me, Cassandra."

Beth and Jon had been with Cassie listening to a story when Jack called. At the sound of their father's name they ran into the kitchen where Cassie had answered the phone

"Daddy?" Jon asked Cassie expectantly.

"I think there are two children here who really need to be in on this call Uncle Jack," said Cassie as she switched to speaker phone and Jack's voice was broadcast over the small room.

"Beth, Jon, are you there?"

Beth and Jon greeted their father with great excitement, "When are you coming home Dad? Are you okay? We've really missed you, Daddy! Please hurry home!"

"Hey, I'm fine you guys and I've really missed you too. Cassie, are the twins still in school?"

"Yes they are, Uncle Jack. I'm on my way right now to pick them up. When are you coming home?"

"Hey slow down young lady. Sam and I will be home as soon as I can make it past Dragon Lady II and McKenzie Jr. If you're picking up my kids, please calm down and drive carefully."

"Uncle Jack, I'm 28 years old and a PhD; careful it is! Can't wait to see you!"

OoOoOo

Cassie had called ahead to the school and Jake and Grace were waiting for her when she arrived. However, in her haste, Cassie had forgotten to make it clear she was coming to bring _good_ news. So when she first saw the twins she was shocked by the long, somber faces that greeted her.

"Hey, you two lets go!" she shouted towards them. At the same time, Beth squirmed from Cassie's hold and ran towards her sister screaming at the top of her lungs, "Daddy's coming home, hurry!"

Scooping Beth up in her arms, Grace shot a wide-eyed look at Cassie and asked "Really?"

"Really, Grace," Jon answered, "Beth and I just talked with Dad on the phone. He says he's all better and coming home with Mom tonight."

Jake broke into a huge smile and literally ran the rest of the way to the car, while Grace made her way as quickly as possible holding her little sister. Within 20 minutes, the very happy group had made it to the O'Neill house, Cassie having driven a bit faster in her excitement than she had promised her Uncle Jack.

"How soon do you think they'll be home Cassie?" Grace asked with more animation and excitement than she'd shown in weeks.

"Well, if the new doctor's anything like my mom, it might be awhile. Then they both have to go to a meeting."

"Not fair," Jon complained, "Don't they know we want to see our dad?"

"Hey guys, this just gives us time to get that welcome home plan in gear, right?" Cassie soothed, hoping to distract them. "Plus Grace and I need some time to bake a cake, right kiddo?"

OoOoOo

Four hours later, the kids were anxiously awaiting their parents' return, but dutifully helping Cassie in the kitchen. Since it seemed they had quite a bit of time, Cassie had decided to prepare a meal as well as a cake. She was well on her way to completing the tasks while the kids conspired and argued over the best decorations for the cake.

"They're here," Jon yelled excitedly from the front hall.

By the time Jack and Sam had started up the front walkway, the door had been thrown open and all four children were running full speed toward their dad.

"Dad, you're back!" Jake yelled as he just about tackled Jack in his unbridled enthusiasm. Grace and Jon were not far behind and little Beth was trying mightily to get past her larger siblings in order to reach her father. Jack gingerly dropped to his knees once Jake reached him and the kids just piled on, eventually making room for Beth to reach her position of choice, nuzzling her daddy's neck. Sam stood off to the side just a bit watching the joyous scene and listening to the happy music pouring from the open door of the house. There had been little music and even less real joy in the house for some time and this was balm to her heart.

The family enjoyed a dinner of fried chicken and French fried potatoes, one of Jack's favorites. Cassie was certain that Sam would overlook the saturated fat issue for this particular meal. Actually, Sam was gratified to see the children's appetites had improved dramatically compared to the past few days.

Jack was overwhelmed by the attention the kids showered on him. Even the twins, who'd recently become too cool for hugging, were very much touchy feely little ones all over again tonight. Jack shared as much as he was able about his adventures with the children, telling them in no uncertain terms that he very happy to be home with them again and regretted how long he'd been gone. As he reassured them that he was safe and well, he felt a pang of guilt when Beth quietly pleaded, "Don't go away again, Daddy".

Daniel, Janet and little Ethan arrived slightly after dinner and just in time for cake. The Jacksons greeted their good friend with relief and joy and easily joined in the merriment of the celebration.

The children allowed a bit more access to their father as the night progressed, giving Jack an opportunity to take Janet and Daniel aside to express his gratitude.

"I don't know how to thank you guys. Sam told me how you were both here for her and the kids every step of the way these past two weeks."

"Friends, Jack", Daniel said simply.

"More than friends, you're both family, always will be. Never forget it".

OoOoOo

Once dinner was finished, Cassie and all 4 children brought in the cake with huge smiles on their faces. The chocolate layer cake (Cassie was really quite the baker in her spare time) was frosted with a rainbow of colors a la Beth's insistence and sported the greeting, 'We love you, Daddy'. Again the phrasing was Beth's; the twins had stopped calling their father Daddy awhile ago but tonight, all bets were off and Jack was simply their beloved 'Daddy' who had finally returned home.

OoOoOo

Much later that night, after the kids had all been tucked into bed (even Grace and Jake had asked to be tucked in, something that would have been seen as an insult to their incipient coolness just 3 weeks ago) Jack and Sam went out to the deck where they fell into an exhausted sleep themselves. Actually they'd nodded off wrapped in each other's arms on one of the chaises. Jack had woken up with a crick in the back of his neck and decided they were both too old to spend the whole night in this rather awkward, albeit romantic, position. He'd gracefully carried Sam to their bed and was amazed at his finesse when she'd slept through the entire procedure. As he pulled her to himself in the bed, he gazed lovingly at her face, reminding himself he was married to the most beautiful woman in the world. Sadly, he realized she'd probably slept through the move simply because of the total exhaustion of worry she'd experienced the past 2 weeks.

Hours later, Jack was vaguely aware of restless movement at his side before he felt Sam bolt upright, screaming "Nooo….!" Jack sat up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her trembling form. By now she was sobbing loudly and breathing in loud gasps.

"Sam… Sam, honey, I'm right here, you had a nightmare, its okay, we're all safe," he crooned, turning her to face him and smoothing her hair tenderly with his hands.

"Jack… Jack," she whispered, in a tiny frightened voice that gave him chills. He was used to his wife being just about fearless, then realized this only applied when he and the children were not at risk. Then her eyes met his; he saw the tears pouring from them, and gently kissed them away.

"Its okay, baby, I'm here, I'm right here", he continued to soothe her as he felt her body melting into his, the breathing evening out and the feeling of terror passing away. He cradled her to himself, closed his eyes and breathed deeply to calm his own emotions.

"No more… no more" Sam whispered.

"Okay … no more off world trips, but you know I could die from a hockey puck to the head in one of Jake's games or , better yet, a heart attack from making love to my beautiful, (kiss) much younger, (kiss) wife. But what a way to go!"

Sam pulled back, glared at him briefly and landed a sharp swat on his upper arm.

"Ow…"

Sam swiftly silenced his complaint as she captured his lips in a long lingering kiss. Within a few moments the terror of the nightmare was forgotten in the passion and joy of their love. As always, the lovemaking was a heartfelt reflection of the union that had existed for so long in their hearts.

OoOoOo

The following weekend saw the regularly scheduled, O'Neill organized, neighborhood street hockey game. Jake, Grace and Jack, the co-captains and coach/manager of one of the main teams had been conspicuously absent the past two weekends.

Over two years ago now, Jack had drafted 2 other fathers in the neighborhood to start up a street hockey league. The idea had been quite popular and within a few months, there were 5 teams, composed of both boys and girls from adjacent Springs neighborhoods. Jack's initial idea had been to start a neighborhood athletic gathering that his _son_ could enjoy. It hadn't taken long before Grace made it clear that she wanted to play as well. Jack had been ready to protest any thought that a daughter of his would play a boy's game with boys. He'd thought better than to argue the point once he'd caught the look coming from his wife. He could tell Sam was on the verge of another feminist lecture featuring talk of female reproductive organs and equality of the sexes. Although he thought she was extremely cute when her feminist hackles were up, Jack decided to avoid the confrontation and Grace and some of her girlfriends joined the league.

So on Sunday afternoon the twins suited up and went with their dad to the selected street for the day's game. They were well matched today with a team who had cost them the championship last year. While Grace and Jake played their hearts out, each scoring 2 goals during the 3 periods, Jon helped his dad on the sidelines. (Jon thought of himself as assistant coach, biding his time and waiting for his chance to play once he reached his tenth birthday.) As they always did, Sam and Beth sat on the sidelines cheering on the team. This weekend, it was Janet's turn to serve as medical staff, so she kept them company just behind the impromptu bench.

By 1600 the game had concluded. Jack's team, the Explorers, came out on top by one goal, scored by Jake's best friend, Kelly, at 1948 of the third period! The kids had stormed Kelly and then proceeded to shake hands with the vanquished team in a show of sportsmanship that Jack and the other coaches had insisted on from the beginning.

The family was home by 1700 (the game site was just 10 minutes away this weekend). Sam and the kids were rapidly getting ready for a trip to the Pepsi Center and they'd need to leave immediately after dinner. Jack had ordered tickets for the Colorado Avalanche game that night. Although Sam was no fan of any game where the players seemed to enjoy beating up on each other, she'd long ago come to peace with Jack's love of ice hockey.

Jake had started the grill on the deck – it was a bit cold, but burgers cooked inside were never the same – and was getting ready to throw on O'Neill burgers for a quick dinner. Just as he ran into the house to grab some utensils, he heard the doorbell. Running to answer it, he nearly tackled his dad on the way.

"Where's the fire, Jake?"

"Sorry, Dad, thought you were still in the shower."

"Nope, got a short meeting right now. Tell your mom we'll be done in half an hour, okay?"

"Sure thing, Dad. I'll hold off on the burgers."

"You do that, son. We'll be in the den; it's private, okay?"

At that Jack opened the front door and greeted General Landry. "Jack, Jake, good to see you both."

"You too sir, can you stay for supper? I'm cooking." Jake offered.

"Think I will, so long as your dad's not incinerating the meat tonight," Hank quipped, throwing a sideways glance towards Jack and good naturedly slapping Jake on the back.

Jack and Landry made their way to the den and locked the door. Within five minutes, there was a barely noticeable flash of light and the remaining participants had arrived.

* * *

_So what was the secret meeting all about? Next chapter will tell. In fact next chapter will be the end of this story. And it will be pure, unadulterated fluff. _

_Please review, I'd really like to know how you like the story. Also what you think can be improved for my next attempt._

_Again, many thanks to the faithful reviewers. Your efforts are much appreciated. _


	17. Chapter 17 Epilogue: Happy Anniversary!

_Jack and Landry made their way to the den and locked the door. Within five minutes, there was a barely noticeable flash of light and the remaining participants had arrived. _

* * *

PART 17: EPILOGUE: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Jack had been home for nearlya week. After two days out of school, simply to be with their dad, Grace, Jake and Jon had returned to school, Beth still staying at home. Now it was Saturday and the last weekend before a big event – their parent's fourteenth wedding anniversary.

In the past, this celebration was limited to a family dinner, followed by "private time" for their parents (during which they were spirited off to the movies or another distraction by Aunt Janet and Uncle Daniel). Yet given the events of the past month, the children and the O'Neills' close friends had decided this anniversary merited more public fanfare.

Actually, the event that was to happen in less than a week was the brainchild of Grace.

She'd initially conspired with Cassie to simply plan a party. It had grown exponentially from there. Cassie had called Daniel and Teal'c, certain that they should be part of the planning. Conversation had touched upon how people usually had big parties for silver and golden wedding anniversaries and smaller affairs for other, less momentous years.

Jake had intervened at this juncture and asked, "What could be a more important than this year? We weren't sure there would even be an anniversary. We thought we'd never see Dad again."

Grace had answered, "That's right; I think Mom and Dad both deserve a great party this year."

"After all, Mom and Dad will _never _stop loving each other, right, Uncle Daniel?" Jon added.

"I luv parties!" little Beth enthused.

"Then it's settled," Daniel summarized, "I think we're having a big blow out this year." With a nod to his wife, the major planning was on. With a little help from Jack's good friend, the president (of the United States), they'd managed to book one of the loveliest reception halls in the Springs with less than a week's notice. Long time SGC staffers were invited along with close family friends and neighbors. It was unfortunate that the family's alien friends could not be included -- for security reasons, of course.

The biggest challenge to the rag tag planning committee was keeping this shindig a secret from the guests of honor. Jack who'd become accustomed to the attention he'd received when he first returned, was instantly curious as to why the kids seemed to scatter whenever he came upon them, huddled together, talking quietly. Sam was even more suspicious when she would go to work and find Janet talking on the phone in a rather conspiratorial tone with her daughter Grace.

In any case, after less than a week of planning, the big day finally arrived. Plans were in place. Janet had innocently informed Jack and Sam that their anniversary gift this year was dinner, dancing and a weekend getaway at their favorite location in the Springs, the Craftwood Inn.

The Inn was a remodeled factory complex overlooking a scenic mountain vista. A restaurant/reception hall was connected to small guesthouse on the spacious grounds. Jack and Sam had frequented the restaurant during their engagement and what Jack sweetly referred to as their formal courtship (as opposed to the informal 9 year courtship through the gate). As the children were born they'd found less time to go out alone together and usually didn't go to the trouble of anything quite so special. But Janet and Daniel knew that the Inn remained one of their favorite places; after all, it was the place Jack had _finally_ gotten the courage to pop the question.

OoOoOo

It was a lovely calm November evening, with a softly falling snow. Jack and Sam were on their way to the Inn, a 45 minute drive from their suburban home.

"Wasn't it thoughtful of Daniel and Janet to give us this time at the Inn?"

"Absolutely; they're great friends, Sam. And I can't imagine anything better than spending time alone with you." It had been forever since they'd been away together and after the trauma of the past few weeks the promise of this time seemed sweeter still. Even so, Sam had questioned the advisability of leaving the children so soon after P3X-779; when the kids had heard her misgivings they'd been quick to assure their mother that they would be just fine and she shouldn't worry.

As they approached the Inn, it was dusk. The O'Neills noticed the parking lots were full to overflowing, something that left them a bit disappointed. They'd been hoping for a fairly quiet evening, without a lot of strangers to deal with. A nice dinner, some dancing and a night alone --- some special treats they'd missed for a long time. Well, so there were a few extra people; they were still here in a beautiful, nostalgic setting on their wedding anniversary.

After parking the car, Jack gallantly opened the door for his wife, who'd long ago learned to accept some of the traditional ways that Jack choose to treat her with special regard. She took one look at him as he extended his arm and was reminded again, what an incredible man she had married. She loved him more each day and now, after almost loosing him, the intensity of her devotion and appreciation for Jack O'Neill was greater than ever.

"Well I hope Daniel remembered to make the reservation. Looks like they're doing a booming business tonight. Is there a holiday I don't know about?" Jack commented dryly as they walked to the door.

"Just the O'Neill anniversary. They must be pretty important people." Sam answered without missing a beat.

Walking into the gracefully decorated Inn, the couple was pleasantly surprised to see their neighbors at the coat check.

"Hi coach!" Jack was greeted enthusiastically by Mike Paris, an aeronautical engineer who coached street hockey with him.

"Mike, looks like this is a pretty popular spot tonight."

"Sure does, you come here often?"

"Used to be a favorite place. Haven't been here in a long time, but tonight … tonight's our anniversary, and a very special one, right Sam?"

Sam had just joined her husband after checking their wraps. "Yes, sir," she answered with a radiant smile. Jack could feel himself blush; after all these years, that smile and the "sir" were their code signals. "Sir" the title he'd come to hate more than anything during the years she was his second in command, had become an endearment for their more playful moments and that smile … promised an interesting evening ahead.

"Really, your anniversary too?" questioned Mike's wife Beverly, with feigned innocence. "What a coincidence, we're here for an anniversary party."

As much as Jack liked Bev and Mike Paris, he was hoping this little conversation would end soon. He didn't look forward to spending this evening conversing with neighbors; he just wanted to focus on Sam and their celebration. So he was relieved as the little group, with Sam leading the way, moved towards the dining room..

Sam was surprised by the very dim light she noticed in the dining area. She remembered lots of candlelight during their last visit, but this lighting seemed extremely low. She wasn't sure she'd even be able to see Jack's face across the table (and she was planning to do a lot of lovesick gazing – the kind they'd had to avoid for so long early in their 'relationship').

Within a minute, the O'Neills were approached by a rotund, older gentleman, apparently dressed as a maitre d'. As soon as the man's face came into view, the lights came up, revealing none other that General Hammond waiting to see them to their table. At his heels, insistently tugging at the corners of his jacket, was little Beth.

"Now, Grandpa George? Can we do it now?"

"Yes, Beth. Now would be a good time."

"SURPRISE!"

At that the entire dining room erupted in cheers. With the much improved lighting, a flummoxed Jack and Sam noticed that the diners looked familiar, each and every one. As they slowly understood that they had been set up, by the best, no doubt, they saw Jake, Grace and Jon, sporting huge grins come up to join their little sister.

"Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad," they said proudly. Janet and Daniel were close behind them, also beaming, just a bit guiltily.

"Hope you're not too disappointed to have company, Jack" Daniel said softly to his friend. "I promise we'll all go home before you two 'retire' for the night".

"Ya did good, space monkey," Jack said, somewhat overwhelmed at the thought of all the people who'd come to this little gathering. Gingerly surveying the group before him, Jack recognized lots of senior SGC personnel (men and women he and Sam had served with for years), close family friends and neighbors. There had to be at least one hundred people here, clearly for _their_ anniversary party.

General Hammond played host and showed the guests of honor to their table directly in front of the center window of the dining room. The kids were nearby, but at a separate table with the Jacksons, trying to wave _discretely_ and failing miserably. Soft music began playing, just before the master of ceremonies, none other than Teal'c, better known to this gathering as Murray, took center stage.

"As you all know we have come here tonight at the request of the O'Neill children to honor their parents on this, the fourteenth anniversary of their marriage. I am told that traditionally large gatherings such as this wait for several more years, yet I and the children are glad you have all agreed to participate now." At that all of the over 100 guests broke into enthusiastic applause. (Most of the guests, at least those from the SGC, were well acquainted with Teal'c and his stoned face approach to public speaking and as such were able to appreciate his humor.)

After the initial welcome, a lovely dinner was served, during which friends gradually drifted over to congratulate Jack and Sam who remained somewhat stunned at what they saw as an incredible outpouring of affection.

OoOoOo

Just as they were beginning to wonder what had become of their scheming children, Beth scrambled out of nowhere and onto her mother's lap. "Hi, Mommy! Are you having a good time?" Before Sam could answer, she saw that her little angel had a roving microphone in her hand and that 'Uncle Daniel' was just a few steps behind, followed closely by 3 other sets of young eyes. Jack burst into laughter and looked accusingly at his good friend who then took the mike and began the next part of the program.

"Okay I see a smile on my good friend's face, that means he'd not planning on killing me quite yet! Actually, the fact that I'm delaying the CAKE somewhat may cause him to reconsider. (The SGC marines seemed to find this last thought absolutely hysterical and burst into fits of laughter.) Right now before we proceed with the festivities, the children have asked me to present a family photo album recapping some highlights of our favorite couple's years together." With that, the lights dimmed and very quiet classical music began to play. Jack pulled his chair even closer to Sam as a wide screen projection TV engaged.

Sam gasped at the first photo, a picture of the original SG1 suited up for their very first mission together. They were so young! This must have been the afternoon following her little introductory speech when she met Colonel O'Neill. She was still embarrassed to remember how silly she must have sounded. Yet the picture brought back memories of exciting times and the beginning of everything she now held dear. By now Sam was sitting with Jack's arm around her, her head leaning on his shoulder.

Next came a series of stills capturing the team and others from the SGC at various functions over the years, in BDUs, dress blues and a variety of street clothes.

There was a lovely picture of a very young Sam with a small, innocent Cassie. And of course, her favorite picture from that time – one of her and the Colonel together and unaware of Daniel, the sneaky photographer -- on a star filled off world night. (Fortunately, no one could tell from the shot that the couple was not on earth.)

And then there were the wedding pictures. Jack had almost forgotten how stunning Sam was that day, but right now it all came back to him in spades. He'd been frozen to the spot as he'd watched her walk up the aisle, escorted by George Hammond. Daniel had reminded him to breathe more than once and he could swear the kids had picked out the very picture where his best man jabbed him in the ribs with such a reminder. But all in all, they'd both looked incredibly happy that day, as if all was finally right with the world.

The first picture of Sam pregnant with the twins caught Jack by surprise. Sam noticed his sharp intake of breath and knew instantly that his mind had gone back to a time just slightly before that picture, a time that had nearly torn them apart. Her hand reached his on the table and held on tightly, their eyes meeting and holding each other's gaze. Their attention was drawn back to the photo presentation by the exclamations of the audience over the cuteness factor in the next set of pictures – the twins had arrived and the photos that followed featured parents and extended family in various poses with the new deliveries. Jack and Sam shot looks at their favorite pre-teens at the next table. Grace was smiling, but Jake had turned a great shade of crimson looking at what he thought were less than flattering shots.

Pictures of family vacations and the arrivals of Jon and Beth rounded out the presentation which ended with the family portrait Jack had commissioned for Sam on the occasion of last year's anniversary. After a round of applause, Grace and Jake took center stage and wrested the mike from their Uncle Daniel. Grace began, "These were wonderful pictures that Jake, Jon, Beth and I found and put together with Uncle Daniel and Aunt Janet's help. But they only begin to tell the story of our wonderful parents." Looking at her mother and father directly now, Grace continued, "Mom and Dad are always there for us kids, when things are good and when bad things happen too. Mom, Dad, we just had to have a special party this year to let you know how much we love you both." By now Sam felt tears of happiness winding their way down her cheeks and Jack's arm rubbing her back in a comforting gesture. (Jack still wasn't quite sure what to do with his wife's 'happy tears'.)

OoOoOo

After Grace's speech (Jake seemed to be there for moral support), Jon came to the mike and with a devilish grin stated that he needed to see his parents for a few moments before the dancing started. He walked over to their table with an old friend of his father's, invited and accompanied by Teal'c.

Rev. Leonard Kelly was an old fraternity brother of Jack's; they'd played varsity ice hockey together in college. When Len had entered the seminary, Jack was speechless for one of the first times in his life. He hadn't thought a guy who'd sown quite as many wild oats as he and Len had done would have been accepted to be a priest. Jack had lost touch with him over the years as their life paths had diverged and Jack became more and more estranged from organized religion.

That all changed four years ago when the twins were kidnapped. It was a hellish few days, with the stress leading to a threatened miscarriage for Sam, pregnant with Jon at the time. Jack had sought out his old friend in desperation; he'd felt he was coming undone and couldn't think where else to turn. He trusted his old friend, certainly not because he was a priest, but because he was Len. The man had guided him back from a dark place and helped him stay strong for his family. Jack had remained in touch since then, nurturing a newfound sense of solidarity with an old friend.

Jack had shared Len's story with Teal'c one night; the Jaffa had decided that Len was just the right person to officiate at a renewal of vows. (Teal'c had rapidly become the expert on Tauri tradition to the point where Jack had often wanted to strangle him and tonight would be no exception.) Fortunately, Father Len as T. had begun to call him, was wise enough to persuade the well meaning Jaffa that Jack O'Neill would not take well to a _total_ surprise vow ceremony, no matter how good an idea T thought it was.

"Len!" Jack called out as he saw his old friend approach the table. Jack got up immediately and clapped his friend on the back, bringing him over to Sam. Len and Sam had only met a handful of times, but from the beginning, Len had sensed his old friend's complete devotion to Samantha Carter O' Neill.

"Jack, Samantha, its great to be here. Murray called and told me the kids where planning this shindig, and wow, quite the celebration. One would think you two saved the world or something." At the comment, Sam blushed slightly and looked down at her hands, while Jack simply smirked at his friend and shrugged his shoulders.

Len, Teal'c and Jon all pulled up chairs and sat down. "Okay, T., I know when an ambush is coming, what's up?" Sam had started to look at her husband with somewhat amused amazement. She couldn't believe how well he was taking to all of these surprises. He was really enjoying himself.

"Well actually, Dad, since you and Mom will _always_ love each other, we thought you could say your promises to each other all over again, like at your wedding. You know I didn't get to hear them the first time."

Sam, who had been sipping a glass of Merlot, just about inhaled and looked at her middle child, who sat smiling at her in all innocence. "Right now? In front of all these people?"

"Why not, Mom? They're all friends."

"Yeah, Sam. I think we should."

"You are a lot of help, Jack O'Neill!"

"I aim to please, Mrs. O'Neill," he quipped, warming to the occasion and pulling her into his arms for a kiss.

"So that's a yes, Jack?" Len asked.

"That's a yes, Len, on one condition. My lovely bride and I need at least one dance before we do this."

"I think that can be arranged."

Teal'c went over to the band and requested the song he recalled from his friends' wedding – the one they'd first danced to as man and wife. As the music started, Jack stood up, offered Sam his hand and led his wife to the dance floor where they danced alone, all eyes on them. They held each other close and whispered their love to each other in private. Jack knew Sam was gradually warming to a repeat public pronouncement.

When the dance ended, Jack and Sam remained in the center of the dance floor, where Len approached them with that darned roving mike. "Well you want everyone to hear, right?"

The two simply smiled softly at each other and held hands as Len handed Jack the mike and issued the invitation. "Sam and Jack, everyone here knows that fourteen years ago today, you two made solemn promises to each other, promises that have brought you to today. This celebration bears witness that the promises have been kept and I am told by 4 very enthusiastic children that you intend to keep them 'forever'. Since that is the case, I invite you both to renew those promises in the sight of your friends, your family and your God."

Recovering briskly from the mention of the 'G' word, Jack took a deep breath, looked directly at the woman he knew he would always love and began, "Sam, I've loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. That love has grown with each day we've been together. I promise to love, cherish and respect you for always."

Sam gazed lovingly at Jack through a haze of tears for the duration of his brief oration. Before she started, he pulled her close and placed a gentle chaste kiss on her forehead. He handed her the mike which she held in her right hand while Jack held her left between both of his. Sam found his eyes and thought she might happily drown in the warmth and adoration she found there.

"Jack, I've loved since you pushed me through 'the door' into my first assignment on your team. I could hardly believe it was real when we were able to be with each other. I can't imagine living a life without you in it. I promise to love, cherish and respect you with all my heart forever." By now, tears were streaming done her face and Jack had pulled her tightly to his chest.

The guests, initially transfixed by the moment, broke into applause led by Beth and the other children. As Sam brought her head up to capture Jack's lips in a leisurely kiss, the band began to play once more and other couples joined them on the dance floor.

Within a few minutes, the couple walked off the floor and over to their children, who eagerly greeted them with hugs and kisses.

OoOoOo

After two more dances (and cake), Sam and Jack O'Neill, feeling well and truly loved by friends, family and especially their children, said goodbye to the group and retired to the guesthouse, a short distance on the grounds.

In total exhaustion, they fell, fully dressed, side by side on the king sized bed, giggling and turning slowly to face each other.

"Wow! That was really something! I can't believe our kids were behind this."

"Hey, they are _our_ kids, _that_ should tell you something."

"Pretty special, aren't they?"

"Yep, Mrs. O'Neill, that they are," Jack sighed, reaching out gently to stroke Sam's face. "Speaking of special, my dear, when do you think we should break our "special" news to the kids?"

"As soon as we get back would be good, Jack. How did they take it? You never did tell me, you know."

"Well, President Kirk wasn't particularly thrilled, but I convinced him that Thor and I had come to an understanding. And it was true, Thor agreed, just a little reluctantly, that I'd train a team of SGC personnel who would be available to help the Asgard on sensitive issues. I made it clear I wouldn't be going off world anymore. I am officially retired, except for training and some advisory work."

"You sure you're okay with that?"

"More than okay, Sam. It's time." Jack silently recalled his life more than 25 years ago when he'd been so depressed, so devoid of reasons to live, that he'd actively pursued a mission guaranteed to take his life. Everything was so different now; he very much wanted to live to see his children grow up and simply to spend more time with Sam. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do than spend more time with you and the kids. I'm not going to jeopardize it – I'm not the only one who can do that job."

Sam cuddled up to her husband and smiled; "Did you tell them the part where I'm staying in the lab."

"Yeahsureyabetcha; again not thrilled, but they're going to deal with it. Kirk and Thor know that having Samantha O'Neill at the SGC or Area 51 is a lot better than having her retired.

"Have I told you I love you today, Sir?"

"Once or twice, but it would be great to hear it again."

"I think I can manage that."

* * *

_Finally, the end of Alone. Hope you enjoyed it. Please review. It would help me to know what you enjoyed and what could be improved. (After a year of anonymously reading other people's stories, I've learned how important it is to take the time to review.)_

_I am planning a "prequel". (Hey, if the concept is good enough for George Lucas and Star Wars …) Please look for it; it will be titled Backstory, and will highlight pivotal events that brought our characters to the life circumstances we've seen in Alone. _


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